According to You
by LoveWishHope
Summary: Rima is tired of the way Kirishma views her: stupid and useless. She thinks it's true until her enemy, Nagihiko, views her: beautiful and incredible. Will Rima realize her true feelings before it's too late? Rimahiko.
1. According to You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _According to You_ by Orianthi.

* * *

_**According to You**_

(Rima's POV)

**According to you **  
**I'm stupid, I'm useless  
I can't do anything right**

"Mashiro-san, hold the ball with your dominant hand, aim, then shoot."

I tried shooting the basketball, but it only went two feet in front of me. "Like that?"

He face-palmed and groaned. "It seriously isn't that hard." He positioned my hands underneath the ball and I shot again.

This time the ball went straight up in the air and landed on Kirishma-kun's head. KusuKusu and I started giggling.

When he caught me laughing, I stopped. "At least I'm not stupid and can't shoot a basketball."

I sighed. "I guess I'm not meant to play basketball."

"You got that right. Go seat on the bleachers or something."

I did as I was told. It was his suggestion to come here in the first place. I watched Kirishma-kun shoot the ball at the hoop.

After making five in a row, his sixth shot hit the rim and bounced out. The ball rolled my way. "Mashiro-san, pass the ball."

I grabbed the ball, but it slipped out of my fingers and bounced the opposite way. I was going to get it, but he retrieved it himself.

"Geez, Mashiro-san. You're also useless. Can't you do anything right?" he grunted.

Yes. You just don't notice.

**According to you **  
**I'm difficult, hard to please  
Forever changing my mind**

I was tired of listening to him. I began to walk away from the scene. But he caught up to me.

"If you don't want to play basketball anymore, why don't we go for a walk instead?"

"No."

"How about we go watch a movie?"

"No."

"You're being difficult. You're impossible to please. I pick we go to the mall."

"Fine. Can we go in a few hours? No…how about in a few minutes? Actually, can we go-"

"We're going in an hour!

**I'm a mess in a dress, can't show up on time  
Even if it would save my life  
According to you, according to you  
**  
And this is why I hate wearing dresses. Who calls right when I leave the house and tells me to wear a dress? Why does it matter what I wear?

I checked my phone. Damn it! I'm 45 minutes late. I arrived at the tree, the spot where we usually meet, but he was nowhere in sight. I sighed and took a seat at a nearby café. I needed a break. I put my head down on the table.

"Rima," KusuKusu worriedly said.

"I'm fine," I mumbled with my head still down on the table.

When a few moments passed, I heard KusuKusu laughing and talking to someone.

"KusuKusu, who are you…" I lifted my head up to see two other charas on the table. One chara was wearing a pink kimono while the other was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a blue vest and jeans.

The chair next to me was pulled out and a familiar purple-headed person sat down.

**But according to him **  
**I'm beautiful; incredible  
He can't get me out of his head  
According to him **  
**I'm funny, irresistible  
Everything he ever wanted**

I was annoyed. "What do you want cross-dresser?"

"Just wondering what a beautiful and incredible girl like you is sitting all alone," he smirked.

"Stop being a play-boy. Don't you have someone else to bother?"

"No. And besides, lately, I can't get you out of my head."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Leave!" He made no sudden movements. It's as if he didn't hear me. "I swear all guys ever hear is blah blah blah FOOD blah blah blah SPORTS blah blah blah SEX."

He laughed. "You know, Rima-chan that was pretty funny."

"How! I was trying to insult you and your...species."

"The way you said it was truly adorable. How can I not help, but laugh?"

What is he on? "Yeah, sure. Anyways, I'm going to go meet-"

"Kirishma-kun." I nodded. "You know he's really lucky he has a girl like you. You're everything I ever wanted."

I blushed. Hard.

**Everything is opposite,**  
**I don't feel like stopping it  
So baby tell me what I got to lose  
He's into me for everything I'm not  
According to you**

This is strange. I've always hated Nagihiko because I thought he'd steal Amu away from me, but now…I feel different. Nagihiko's actually kind and caring. Maybe, I should give him a chance.

I was pondering on the thought for some time when KusuKusu floated up to me. "Rima, we have to go."

"Alright." I got up from the seat and pushed the chair in. "Bye cross-dre- Nagihiko."

KusuKusu flew ahead of me. I ran in the same direction casting one final look at Nagihiko who was smiling.

**According to you **  
**I'm boring, I'm moody  
And you can't take me any place**

I got to the mall and found Kirishma-kun waiting outside a sports store. He took my hand and led me inside.

We went walking around the store. From time to time, he showed me some random stuff. I would glimpse at it and not say anything.

He'd frown every time I did. I didn't even want to be here. I'm not athletic whatsoever. I thought we already established that this morning.

After a few minutes, he seemed to be irritated. "Mashiro-san, could you at least be a little excited. You're always boring and moody wherever I take you. That's why I can't take you anywhere."

Yeah, because he always picks the places; he never asks me. I quickly thought of an excuse to leave. "I'm kind of hungry."

He put down what he was looking at and took me to the food court. This is probably the first time he ever listened to me.

**According to you **  
**I suck at telling jokes  
'Cause I always give it away**

We sat down at the food court waiting for our food. Across from me, Kirishma-kun was lifeless.

KusuKusu hovered and whispered in my ear, "Tell him a joke."

I thought long and hard for a joke that would make him laugh. "Hey, Kirishma-kun. I have a joke I want to tell you."

He faced me. "Go ahead."

I was about to tell my joke, but when I noticed him watching my every move, I froze. Whenever I want to tell him a joke, it never goes the way I planned. I decided to carry on with my joke since he was waiting. "What do you call a doctopus? I mean...what do you call a doctopus surgeon with eight arms?

"Mashiro-san, you already gave it away. You're horrible at telling jokes."

KusuKusu drifted next to my ear, "Don't worry, Rima. I think you're funny."

I gave a small smile.  
**  
I'm the girl with the worst attention span  
You're the boy who puts up with that  
According to you, according to you**

I finished eating and was now slurping my drink. I was staring into space thinking what we were going to do next.

"Mashiro-san."

I hope we don't go back in that sports store.

"Mashiro-san."

When will he finally let me pick a place?

"Mashiro-san!" His fist pounded on the table and I jumped a little. "My God, you have the worst attention span. Can't you ever keep your focus? I'm tired of putting up with it."

All I did in return was shrug my shoulders.

He heaved a sigh. "Fine. If you're going to be that way, how about if we split up? You can go wherever you want and I'll go wherever I want. We'll meet outside when we're finished. Got it?"

I agreed. That was one of the best ideas he ever came up with.

He went his own way while I went outside. I didn't feel like the mall today. I was walking along with KusuKusu by my side. I was swinging my arms back and forth freely, until someone caught my hand.

**But according to him **  
**I'm beautiful, incredible  
He can't get me out of his head  
According to him **  
**I'm funny, irresistible  
Everything he ever wanted**

I turned around to see Nagihiko. "Hey, princess."

"Nagihiko! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was walking when I saw you come out of the mall somewhat distressed. Everything okay?"

I don't trust him quite yet. "Yes, everything is perfect."

"Rima-chan, you're lying."

"Okay, maybe I am. Why do you care?"

"Because when you're sad, you frown. It hurts me to see you frown. I'd rather see your smile."

Upon him saying that, the corners of my mouth curved upward into a smile.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. What do you want to do?"

He's asking me? It's the first time in a long while anyone's asked for my opinion. "Can we get ice cream in the park?" I figured I could trust Nagihiko now.

"Of course Rima-chan. Who would say no to your irresistible smile?"

He, his guardian charas and KusuKusu went ahead of me. I stayed still for a little bit thinking about his question. There's only one person that has said no. It's also the same person who doesn't care about my suggestions. Kirishma-kun.

**Everything is opposite, **  
**I don't feel like stopping it  
So baby tell me what I got to lose  
He's into me for everything I'm not  
According to you**

Nagihiko and I were sitting on a bench eating our ice cream while our charas were playing in the fountain behind us.

I was licking my cone when Nagihiko broke the silence. "Rima-chan." I turned to face him. "I've been wondering this since you came out of the mall, but I wanted to ask you now. Where's Kirishma-kun? I thought you were going to meet him."

I stiffened. I totally forgot I had to meet him outside.

"Rima-chan?"

"Don't worry about him. I told him that I wasn't up to the mall today."

"Okay."

He bought it, phew! I turned my attention back to the melting ice cream cone in my hand. I swiftly licked all the dripping spots.

"Speaking of Kirishma-kun…" I took my attention off the ice cream and gazed at Nagihiko. "Rima-chan, do you really like him?"

No one's ever asked me that before. And now since someone has, I don't know the answer. I don't even know why I'm with Kirishma-kun. "Why?"

"Do you like anyone else?"

Anyone else? "I'm not sure. I'm starting to like this person after I've hated him for so long. Why?"

His eyes met up with mine and they were filled with sorrow. Did I say something wrong?

"Because Rima-chan, if that person who you're thinking is the same person I'm thinking, then maybe you should tell them before it's too late."

"Why would it be too late?"

"Rima-chan, I'm going to-"

"FOUND YOU!" Nagihiko and I looked up from each other to see a very pissed off Kirishma-kun. How'd he find me? "Mashiro-san, do you know how long I was waiting for you outside the mall? Originally, I considered you were still inside. But when I went into every store and asked for you, none of them saw a petite, blonde girl walk in. I was going to your house to check if you weren't feeling well and left, so I cut through the park. But when I do, I see you here with Fujisaki!"

"Kirishma-kun, calm down. Rima-chan looked depressed, so I wanted to cheer her-"

"You stay out of this Fujisaki! It's bad enough you stole basketball captain from me, but you didn't have to steal my girlfriend."

I flinched at the word girlfriend. It didn't sound right when he said it.

In a flash, Kirishma-kun seized my hand and began leading me away from Nagihiko. KusuKusu had to hurriedly catch up to us.

I turned around and I could still see Nagihiko. I heard him shout, "Rima-chan, meet me at the café."

I was going to shout back my reply, but Kirishma-kun beat me to it. "She's not going to meet you. Back off!" He faced me. "You, stay away from him. And to make sure you do, I'm making you come everywhere with me."

KusuKusu floated onto my shoulder. "Rima." I just kept my gaze on the ground.

**I need to feel appreciated  
Like I'm not hated, oh no  
Why can't you see me through his eyes?  
It's too bad, you're making me decide  
**

It's been two hours since Kirishma-kun hauled me from the bench in the park. He insisted that he got to pick our destination since I left him waiting then ditched him and went with Nagihiko.

We were back in the mall. He was dragging me to places I didn't want to go in. I would've complained, but he never lets me have a say in it.

I would leave, but he was holding onto me tightly, making sure I didn't go to the café.

He saw my glum expression. "What's wrong Mashiro-san? I thought you'd appreciate the fact I pulled you away from your enemy, Fujisaki."

KusuKusu caught my fuming expression and signaled for me to tell him. "Actually, I didn't appreciate it."

"Why not?"

"To make someone feel appreciated, you do it as an act of kindness. I didn't want to be dragged away from the bench. Now that I think about it, you've never made me feel appreciated. You're never said a "thank you" or "good job." You always act like you hate me."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying why can't you see me like Nagihiko sees me."

"I thought you hate him!"

"I did, but it was before I saw the way he treats me. He treats me the way I want to be treated. Nagihiko's a good friend who's always going to be there for me. He compliments me, he makes me feel appreciated, he's polite, he constantly offers help, he listens to me, he's humble and sincere and he thinks of others before himself."

"Oh? So who would you rather be with, him or me?"

"You know…it's too bad you're making me decide."

"Why?"

I jerked my hand away from his grasp. "Because I choose Nagihiko."

"Yay, Rima!" KusuKusu sang.

I was about to run to the café before I thought of something. I walked up to Kirishma-kun.

**But according to me **  
**you're stupid, you're useless  
You can't do anything right  
**

"Before I leave though, I just wanted to say YOU'RE stupid, YOU'RE useless and YOU can't do anything right!" I stomped on his foot and kicked him, then ran leaving him dumbfounded.

He wasn't who I thought he was. He was kind at first, but it probably was to conceal what's he's really like.

**But according to him **  
**I'm beautiful, incredible  
He can't get me out of his head  
According to him **  
**I'm funny, irresistible  
Everything he ever wanted**

As I was running to the café, I thought of all the times I had with Nagihiko.

_Flashback_

"_How does this look?" I twirled around in a dress I was trying on for Utau's cotillion._

"_Rima-chan," he breathed, "you're beautiful."_

XXX

"_Good job, Rima on calming that X-egg."_

"_Yeah, Rima-chan. You're incredible."_

_XXX_

"_Why are you calling me this late, purple-head?"_

"_Because I can't get you out of my head."_

_XXX_

"_Cross-dresser, why did the boy throw butter out the window?"_

"_I don't know, Rima-chan."_

"_He wanted to see a butterfly."_

"_You're funny Rima-chan."_

_XXX_

"_Why do you keep staring at me?"_

"_You're so irresistible, Rima-chan."_

_XXX_

"_You know, Rima-chan. Kirishma-kun is lucky he has a girl like you. You're everything I've always wanted."_

_End of flashback_

**E****verything is opposite, I don't feel like stopping it  
Baby tell me what I got to lose  
He's into me for everything I'm not  
According to you, you  
According to you, you  
**

Nagihiko's always seen the good in me. He may taunt and tease me at times, but then at the end he apologizes even if wasn't a big deal.

Why didn't I notice it earlier? Nagihiko loves me for me.

I made it to the café. Nagihiko was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully, I'm not too late.

When I sat down, a waitress tapped me on the shoulder, "Excuse me. Are you Mashiro Rima?" I nodded. "A young boy with purple hair left this for you." She handed me a note.

I unfolded the piece of paper and read the contents. My heart sank.

Dear Rima-chan,

You're probably wondering why I'm not there. Truthfully, I did go to the café and wait for you after you left with Kirishma-kun. I waited an hour, hoping you would see the truth…that I love you. But apparently, you didn't since I'm writing this letter. By the time, you read this I'll be on a plane to Europe. I was hoping you'd realize your true feelings for me. And if you did, I wouldn't have left. Anyways, it doesn't matter anymore. I hope you're happy with Kirishma-kun. Not according to me, but according to you…since you didn't come sooner. Hopefully, I'll see you soon.

Love,

Nagihiko

A few tears spilled out of my eyes.

My heart shattered into a million pieces. Why couldn't I see it earlier? I refolded the paper and brushed the tears away when I saw Kirishma-kun walking toward me.

"He's always going to be there for you, huh? Where is he then?"

I remained silent.

"You know, Mashiro-san, I could be willing to forget what happened in the mall?" He held out his hand to me. "What do you say?"

**According to you **  
**I'm stupid, I'm useless  
I can't do anything right**

Now, even according to Nagihiko, I'm stupid. I'm stupid not to see that Nagihiko's always loved me. I'm useless because I didn't do anything about it. And when I did, it was too late. I can't do anything right because…I took Kirishma-kun's hand.

_The end?_

* * *

Hmm, I'm not sure if I want to write what happens next or not. Until I decide, the story will be counted as 'completed.'

I've been working on this for so long. My first songfic. I think I failed. At times, I strayed away from the lyrics. Oh, well.

Constructive criticism, please._  
_


	2. Dummy

I finally decided to finish this. But I'm not sure if after this chapter I should end it or still continue it. :/ I'm leaning toward making it into a chapter fic. ;)

Anyways, I recommend you listen to the song before you read. It'll help set the mood.

Now on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _Dummy_ by Emma Roberts.

* * *

_**Dummy**_

(Rima's POV)

"I knew you'd see it my way, Mashiro-san. You're smarter than I thought." He chuckled to himself as we started to walk.

Did he indirectly call me stupid? KusuKusu floated up to his face and began yelling, "Rima is not stupid!"

I stared at the ground.

I hate to admit it, but Kirishma-kun _is_ right. Sometimes, I feel like a...dummy.

* * *

It's been two weeks since Nagihiko left for Europe and I went crawling back to Kirishma-kun.

I still wish I could turn back time to that day, but sadly I can't.

At least today, Kirishma-kun was going to take me out on a date.

I left the house without bothering to ask my parents for a ride. They've been fighting so much these days that I think they're in the process of filing for a divorce.

I didn't feel like taking the bus so, instead I walked with KusuKusu to the tree. And truthfully, it wasn't that far.

When I arrived at my destination, I put my back against the tree and watched the foreboding sky. In a few minutes, my phone rang. "Hello_,_" I answered.

"Ah, Mashiro-san. This is Kirishma. Sorry, but I can't take you on a date today. I have lots of homework to do. Maybe some other time."

"Okay, then. Bye."

I hung up the phone, disappointed. It's the fourth time he's canceled. I let out a huge sigh.

"Rima, look it's about to rain," KusuKusu acknowledged.

Sure enough, tiny drops of water were falling from the sky. I quickly took off my jacket and shielded myself with it.

"Rima, follow me." KusuKusu was leading me to somewhere dry.

She stopped in front of the café Nagihiko and I were supposed to meet at. I stood and gazed at the building.

"Let's go inside."

I shook the memory out of my head before agreeing. "Right."

I was hoping Kirishma-kun wouldn't have canceled, so I didn't have anything to eat or drink before I left. At last minute though, he did. I checked my wallet to see if I had any money.

I had 86 yen. I examined the menu to see if there was anything I could afford. But, unfortunately, there wasn't. I didn't have enough to get a latte let alone a hot chocolate.

I backed away from the counter and headed for the door. There was no use staying here if I couldn't get anything to fill my hunger or thirst. When I was about to take a step outside, the rain began to fall faster and heavier.

I retreated inside. I decided against walking home in the pouring rain. If I arrive home soaking wet, it would only lead my parents to more fighting. My other option then, was sit at a table inside the café and wait for the rain to stop.

As I sat down, I immediately thought about Kirishma-kun.

My mind raced through all the excuses Kirishma-kun made to suddenly break our dates.

His newest was he "claimed" he had to work on homework. His others were "claiming" he had basketball practice, "claiming" he had to go over at a friend's house to work on a project and "claiming" he had to take care of his sick parent.

I'd be a fool to believe him.

Sometimes I think Kirishma-kun only sees me as his dummy. A person he can easily manipulate to do whatever he wants.

At times, I wish I could break free from him.

I wonder why I gave into Kirishma-kun's proposition.

I know it's not because of his life or money. And I definitely know it's not his time because he hasn't been giving me his time lately.

Kirishma also can be very conceited to the point it's funny. Whenever I'm with I feel so crummy.

That's when I remembered the real reason. I felt into my pocket for a piece of paper. It was the letter that Nagihiko wrote to me. Coincidentally, I ended up at the café with the letter in my pocket. I re-read it and sighed.

I miss that cross-dresser.

"Rima!" KusuKusu interrupted my concentration.

"What is it, KusuKusu?"

She pointed out the window. "It stopped raining. We can go home now."

"Alright." I refolded the letter, got up from my seat, pushed it in and left the café.

* * *

The next day I was going to hang out with Amu and Yaya at Amu's house. I was in my room getting ready. My parents were both at work, so I had to make sure I locked the house up.

When I was dressed, I raced downstairs and out the door. KusuKusu was hovering over me, excited to see her chara friends.

Everything was quiet. That is, until my phone beeped.

I swear if this is Yaya asking me to buy candy, I am going to do such illegal things to her.

"What!"

The person on the other end coughed and cleared their throat. Oops, I know who it was. I regretted yelling.

"I'm sorry; I thought you were someone else."

"It's okay, Mashiro-san. Just meet me at the mall in a couple of minutes."

"Oka- Wait, I can't. I'm going to hang out with Amu and Yaya today."

"Well, tell them you can't come." On his end, I heard people talking. "Be here in ten minutes."

"But-" Before I could protest, there was a humming noise on the phone line. He hung up.

I exhaled and went in the opposite direction.

"Rima, where are we going? Amu's house is that way," she pointed.

"Kirishma-kun told me to meet him in the mall, but go tell the others I won't be coming." If I called they'd probably complain, whine and interrogate.

Kirishma isn't the only one lately who's been breaking promises. It's almost as if he knows when I'm going to spend time with my friends, so he can make me drop those plans and spend time with him.

I heaved another sigh and continued to the mall.

As soon as I entered the mall I saw Kirishma, but to my dismay I saw his friends also. It's not that I didn't like his friends; it's just that they act exactly like Kirishma.

"Perfect timing Mashiro-san. We were just talking about you." He grabbed my hand. "We better get walking through the mall now."

"Yippee," I whispered sarcastically.

After mindlessly following the four boys around nearly half the mall, Kirishma let me go on my own. Not because he sensed that I was annoyed and tired, which I was, but it was because his phone kept beeping when we were in the clothing store.

"Mashiro-san, you may go to Hinamori's house now."

"Fine." He let go of my hand while I said goodbye to his friends.

I was walking toward the exit. There was a reasonable distance between us, so his friends thought I couldn't hear anything. However, they were wrong.

I turned around to see them sit down at a table. I overheard their conversation. "You gotta be careful more, Kirishma. Mashiro almost caught you today."

"I wouldn't worry about her. She hasn't caught on to all the other times yet. She actually thought I was doing homework yesterday," Kirishma laughed.

By now, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay and listen. I approached them quietly and hid behind a wall.

"You never know. Fujisaki caught on fast."

"That was because he overheard us. Anyways, Fujisaki never got the chance to tell her," he grinned evilly, "because he had to go to Europe."

His friends laughed. "So, how does it feel to be new captain of the basketball team?"

"It's great. Everything's perfect now. I'm the captain of the basketball team, Fujisaki's gone, I've got you guys and not to mention my _two_ girls."

Two?

"By the way, how does Saaya-chan feel about you and Mashiro?"

"She's a little angry, but then I told her my plan. I was thinking about humiliating Mashiro, then dumping her in front of the whole school soon. But then I thought about it and realized she does and listens to whatever I say. I think I might keep her. Not as my girlfriend though, but as my dummy."

Kirishma and his friends started to howl in laughter.

I ran away from the scene. I _am_ Kirishma's dummy.

The day Nagihiko spent with me before going to Europe was not only for him to get on my good side, but also for me to really see Kirishma's true self.

This was the last thing I ever wanted to happen to me. Kirishma was the puppeteer and I was the puppet on the strings doing whatever he pleased. He's unbelievable. I can't believe that I was going to let him make a fool of me. He thinks I'll do whatever he wants, huh? I'll show him. I'm not going to be Kirishma's dummy.

Not for long anyways because I have a plan.

* * *

"Good afternoon Mashiro-san. Why did you need to see me so urgently?" By the look on his face, I could tell that he was with Saaya before this.

"I wanted to tell you something. It won't take long. I promise you," I paused, "you'll be going back to Saaya shortly." I looked at him waiting for him to deny it.

His somewhat content expression turned into a disgusted one. "So you finally found out."

Really? He's admitting it just like that.

"Yeah. I heard you and your friends talking that day in the mall." I paused, "So, I wanted to tell you…it's over!"

I got up from the table and began to walk away, but he grabbed onto my wrist. "You're not going anywhere! I still need a dummy."

He tightened his grasp on my hand and dragged me to a nearby alley. He threw me to the ground.

"You listen to me. I know you're going to try and break-up with me again, but I'm not going to let you. I don't give a damn on your choices or opinions. So, this is what you're to going to do. You are going to do whatever I say and want and in return I'll be nicer to you and spend more time with you."

"Not a chance," I replied.

He stepped toward me.

And my plan should start…now.

On cue Ikuto, chara naried as Black Lynx, was at the entrance of the alley way. Kirishma turned around. "What the? Who are you supposed to be?"

"Your demise if you don't back away from the munchkin."

Munchkin?

"Y-you don't s-scare m-me," Kirishma stuttered.

Ikuto grinned evilly and did his slash claw attack. Ikuto kept using his slash claw for a few moments. "So, do I scare you now?"

"A-a little."

Ikuto smirked evilly. "Good. Now I suggest you stay away from her, if you don't want to meet me again. Got that?"

"G-got it." Kirishma ran out of the alley screaming.

Success. My plan worked.

I got up from the ground and dusted my skirt.

I walked out of the alley toward Ikuto, about to thank him when I heard three of my friends calling my name.

Amu reached us first. She stopped a few feet in front of us, exhausted. "Rima, are you okay? KusuKusu came to get us."

KusuKusu hovered to my side.

"Yes, I'm fine. Ikuto helped me out."

Amu looked up surprised. "Ikuto helped you?" She pointed at Ikuto. "This Ikuto right here? This pervert cat? How come!"

About that…I was going to tell her sooner, but I knew she wouldn't agree so I kept it a secret until now.

"The munchkin promised that you'd go on a date with me if I helped her out."

Amu turned toward me appalled. "Rima! What were you thinking! I am not-"

Before Amu could finish her sentence, Ikuto still in his chara nari, hoisted her up bridal style and started walking away. Amu tried kicking her way out of his grasp, but it was no use.

While that happened, Yaya and Tadase finally reached me and were to going to ask if I was alright, that is, until they saw Amu and Ikuto. Yaya then started chasing them and taking pictures with her phone while Tadase was yelling at Ikuto to put Amu down.

Yeah. That won't track _any_ attention.

For the first time in a while, I genuinely smiled and laughed again.

I cut the strings and now I'm free. I am no longer Kirishma-kun's dummy and I never will be again.

KusuKusu floated in front of my face and asked, "Rima, what's going to happen next?"

"I don't know what the future has in store, but there is something I do know. Tomorrow's a new day."

To be continued...

* * *

I seriously want to thank you for all the reviews on the first chapter. I didn't think it would get that many.

Oh, God! This failed so much. Constructive criticism please.


	3. New Day

After this chapter… I'm ending the story. Or am I? Seriously, am I? O.o

I recommend listening to the song before reading. ;)

Now on with the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _New Day_ by Tamar.

* * *

_**New Day**_

(Rima's POV)

"That's the spirit Rima! Now, we better head home," KusuKusu informed me.

I did what she stated and we began our journey home. I looked up to the sky. Yeah. Like I said, tomorrow is a new day.

* * *

I arrived home to a quiet atmosphere for the first time in awhile. There were no yelling or shouting, snappy remarks or even objects being thrown around the room. It was just a nice safe haven.

Every now and then I guess my parents need a break from fighting.

I kicked off my shoes and trudged up the stairs to my room. Today made me exhausted, so now all I want to do is relax.

I could tell KusuKusu was also tired. As soon as we reached my room, she floated back into her egg to sleep.

I smiled before going to the bathroom to take a bath. I watched the tub fill with water. When it was filled all the way, I stopped the running faucet, undressed and got in.

I relaxed in the tub while thinking of today. For some bizarre reason, I always get philosophical in the tub.

Before the light I found the dark. That's true. Before I got to the light of freedom, I had to go through the darkness of being told what to do by Kirishma.

Before tonight I fell apart. Those previous nights, I fell apart due to either my parents yelling or because of Kirishma. I gave a tiny smile knowing at least one of them is over. I had realized that something needed to change.

It took a crash for me to understand. Of course the crash was Kirishma. Time kept slipping through my hands. I can't believe it took me two weeks after Nagihiko left for me to figure out Kirishma's true self.

I didn't know that the sun would shine after the rain. But now after everything that's happened, I do.

At first, I was sleeping in a twisted dream. I was dying just to make believe. A pretty situation was far from where I was.

No matter what happens now I don't want to give up, even when I'm out of luck.

Everything ends at the start. I'm going to be feeling, but eventually healing all of my scars.

I smiled really big.

I was done thinking for now. I got out of the tub and wrapped myself in a towel. Then, I changed into my pajamas.

I jumped on my bed and lie on my back looking at the ceiling.

I came to a decision.

To prevent me from making another huge mistake, I'm going to say goodbye to the way I was before.

Instead, I'm going to say hello to a new way. I'll try and be less of the ice queen than I am.

I was lost, but then I found what I was looking for.

Despite the tough times, school, my friends and parents fighting, I know I'm still going to wake up to a new day.

* * *

It was a couple weeks later. I ran out of the house to the elementary school.

KusuKusu was laughing. Why is she laughing? This is so not funny. I'm an hour late for a guardian meeting.

I seriously don't understand why we still have guardians even though we're in middle school. We defeated Easter before we graduated elementary school, so why?

I bet Tsukasa just likes ordering us around.

"Rima, run faster," KusuKusu urged.

Easy for her to say. She can fly!

Nevertheless, I tried running faster all the way to my destination.

I finally made it to the door of the royal garden all sweaty and tired. I really need to find a way to be more athletic.

I approached the door and pushed it open. The door swung back and the first thing I saw was… a very hyper Yaya.

"RIMA-TAN! You're late!" she bellowed in my ear.

I winced from how loud she was.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

KusuKusu giggled before going over to her chara friends.

"Don't worry, Rima-tan! We called this meeting because there's a surprise," she cheered.

Oh, great. A surprise. Like this meeting isn't already a surprise. I wanted to spend the day off from school reading gag manga, not attending a guardian meeting.

We walked over to the table where the others were. Yaya and I took our seats. I looked around the table to see all seats filled. Wait a second…

I scanned all the people in the seats. Yaya was sitting on my left; Amu was sitting next to her, then Tadase. I peered over at my right. It was…

"Finally the queen shows up. It's about time!"

Kukai. He's in high school. Doesn't he have anything better to do than hang out with middle schoolers?

"Don't you anything better to do?" I questioned with a glare.

"It seems to me, the ice queen façade is back. I thought you've changed your ways during these last few weeks."

I have changed slightly. It's just that I won't easily forget the fact that he pushed me into the snow when we were younger.

I turned my head away from him.

"Yaya, what's the surprise?" I asked. I almost forgot about that.

Yaya got up from her seat excited. "Yaya will tell, but first Yaya wants Rima-tan to guess. Go ahead and guess!"

"You'll stop eating candy?"

"No."

"You'll stop acting like a baby?"

"Nope."

"You'll stop talking in third person?"

She threw her hands up in the air. "No, not even close! Yaya thinks Rima-tan's a horrible guesser."

I wasn't actually guessing. I was hoping that one of those things would come true.

"Yeah, yeah. I didn't guess it right, so just tell me."

I'm getting a little impatient.

Amu caught my aggravated expression. "Here. I'll tell you Rima." She began, "The surprise is-"

"NO!" Yaya interrupted her. "I want to tell Rima-tan because Amu-chi gets to tell her everything. It's no fair!"

Then in a matter of a few moments, a little argument formed between Yaya and Amu on who should tell me what the surprise is. I bet the surprise isn't even really a surprise.

After twitching for some time, I found a way to solve the dispute.

"I want Amu to tell me."

Their fighting seized and Amu raised her hands in victory.

"Yes! Thanks Rima." Amu regained her composure. "Okay, the reason we have a guardian meeting is concerning the surprise… and something else, but mostly the surprise. And the surprise is-"

"Nagi's coming back!"

Amu gawked at the girl with pigtails. "Yaya!"

The two began to fight again, but I didn't pay attention. I could only focus on what Yaya had said. When she blurted it out, I nearly fell out of my seat.

Nagihiko's coming back! This _was_ definitely a surprise. I wasn't expecting him to come back anytime soon. How will I face him?

Once I was finished banging my head against the table, I looked at the two guys that were sweat-dropping as they watched Amu and Yaya.

I waved my hands in front of their faces.

"Explain."

The two were at first confused, but then they were brought back to their senses.

"You see Mashiro-san, it turned out that Fujisaki-kun just went to Europe for a dance competition. He'll be back in a few days."

A few days!

"Yeah, and I'm here to fill the empty Jack's chair until he returns," Kukai proudly stated.

Like I cared why Kukai was here.

"So, queen what did you think of the surprise?" he asked.

"I thought it was okay," I replied with a straight face.

I couldn't tell them what I was really thinking. That I was kinda excited.

"Aww, really? We thought you'd be the most excited out of all of us."

"What makes you say that?"

By now, Amu and Yaya stopped bickering. All four of them gave me an 'are you serious' look.

Amu was ready to speak.

Truth be told, I was a little nervous. I haven't told them about what happened the day Nagihiko left.

"Well, you might think we're crazy for thinking this, but we thought it'd only be natural to feel excited when the guy you like comes back."

Me like Nagihiko? Pssh, no.

Okay, I admit I did. But that was before I found out he left. Now, I think of him as an awesome friend who saved me from that evil son of a bitch, Kirishma.

"And what makes you think that I like him," I responded calmly.

"Because you spent the day with him before he left!" Yaya shouted.

I was shocked. How did they know?

"How did you-"

"Nagihiko told us at the airport," Amu clarified.

Oh? So everyone except me knew that Nagihiko was going to Europe. That's just great.

I was getting uncomfortable with the four grinning faces that were looking at me and the awkward silence.

In a few minutes, the uncomfortable and awkwardness faded away.

"Now that Mashiro-san knows the news, we might as well continue on with the rest of the meeting. It has come to my attention that…"

I tuned out of the conversation.

I sunk deep into my chair while everyone was talking amongst themselves.

Right before I came to the guardian meeting, I was hoping there would be at least some news about Nagihiko when I got here.

And it turned out, my wish came true.

I smiled before whispering to myself, "What I found out about you…"

To be continued…

* * *

No, I am not ending the story. What kind of person would I be if I just ended it like that? Haha. Besides, I like writing this story. :)

Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and alerts. ;)

Constructive criticism would be appreciated.


	4. Found Out About You

I'm trying this chapter with the lyrics this time, so please excuse the really long chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _Found Out About You_ by Emily Osment.

* * *

_**Found Out About You**_

**We were picture perfect**

**Flawless on the surface**

**We were walking on a straight line **

"Rima, what'cha doing?"

I looked up from the photo album and saw KusuKusu. "Nothing, really. Just reminiscing about our guardian days in elementary school."

"Why are you doing that?"

"Out of pure boredom," I replied nonchalantly. I watched my unsuspecting chara to see if she bought it.

"Oh. Alright, then. I'm going into the kitchen; I'm hungry." KusuKusu flew out of my room.

Since my parents weren't home, KusuKusu could easily go in the kitchen without my parents wondering why food was floating in mid-air.

I sighed as I turned a page in the photo album. What I told KusuKusu was true. I _am_ bored as hell. The other guardians are busy and the comedy special isn't until tonight.

But then again, it was also a lie. The truth is I'm actually searching for a picture.

When I found the picture, I slipped it out of the plastic covering. I lifted the picture of Nagihiko and me watering the flowers together. Instead of us either insulting or giving glares, we were smiling at each other.

I kept staring at the picture in my hands. We were picture perfect. That moment we were flawless on the surface.

But then… Yaya had to jump out of a bush waving a camera in her hands and ruin it.

**We were automatic**

**You seemed so fanatic**

**I was confident and wide-eyed**

The moment I saw Yaya, I immediately stepped away and insulted him and he quickly gave a comeback. We were automatic. When I insulted him, he'd have a comeback.

I gave a tiny smile. At least Yaya took the picture before the arguing.

I wonder when Nagihiko's coming back. He didn't give a specific date or anything, so all of us are still waiting.

I placed the picture back in the album. Then, I went to the kitchen to check on KusuKusu.

I found KusuKusu sitting on a table pouting. "Rima, there's no food."

I checked the fridge and other places. She's right. I guess Mom hasn't gotten around to going grocery shopping.

"Let's go for a walk and get food," I told her.

She jumped up fanatically. "Yay Rima! Let's go!"

She flew next to me and plopped down on my shoulder. I proceeded toward the front door. I locked it shut before stepping out.

"Where do you want to go?" I questioned KusuKusu.

"I don't care. All I want is food!" she replied.

After a few silent moments of walking, KusuKusu got off my shoulder and hovered in front of me.

"Rima, hurry!" She continued to fly ahead of me. I could hear her humming a song to herself as she kept flying.

To catch up to her, I had to speed up. "KusuKusu, slow down," I commanded her.

She turned to face me. "Okay, but hurry- oof!"

KusuKusu fell to the ground. I know it wasn't meant to be funny, but I giggled. I bent down to pick her up.

"Ouch! Yo, who did that?" someone proclaimed.

KusuKusu and I looked up to see the thing she bumped into. She had bumped into not a thing, but a chara. A very familiar chara at that.

In a few seconds, another chara joined. "See, Rhythm. That's what you get for going ahead.

I was stunned. Nagihiko's charas, Rhythm and Temari, were floating a few feet in front of me. I stood up and poked them to make sure they weren't just figments of my imagination.

"Yo, what was that-"

KusuKusu went in front of them. "Temari, Rhythm long time no see!" she giggled.

Okay, they _are_ real. But I thought Nagihiko took them along when he went to Europe. So if they're here, then that means…

"Where's Nagihiko?" I interrupted.

Rhythm floated up to my face. "Oh, he's coming. He's," he pointed, "around the corner."

After he answered my question, he flew back to Temari and KusuKusu.

I stood frozen. In a matter of a few moments, I would see Nagihiko face to face after about a month and a half. I was bracing myself for what happens next. I actually couldn't wait to see Nagihiko. I was confident and wide-eyed.

**Tough times watched us come undone**

**You found someone**

The last time I saw him was when Kirishma was pulling me away from him. With that tough time, we had come undone. Surely, though, I can restore it.

I was planted to the same spot. The three charas were busy talking. In a few seconds, I heard footsteps coming in my direction. This is it. I _can_ do this.

Nagihiko turned the corner, but he didn't seem to notice me.

Here goes nothing. "Hey, Nagi-"

"Ugh, quit laughing. It wasn't that funny," his gaze was kept behind him at something. He stopped walking.

A couple of seconds passed and a girl came up behind him. "Yes, it was! The expression you made was hilarious. It looked like you pissed your pants." The girl next to him kept laughing.

After a while, Nagihiko gave up and laughed with her. "I guess it was pretty funny."

I watched as the two laughed together. In that time, Rhythm hovered to me. "There's Nagihiko," he stated.

I glared at him. No duh, Captain Obvious. Temari and KusuKusu joined my side, but I didn't pay much attention to them. All I did was stare at Nagihiko.

Little time went by when the girl next to him seized her laughter and noticed me.

At that very second I turned my face away from them. I didn't want to see Nagihiko anymore, so I was going to walk away. There was just one problem. My feet wouldn't budge. It's like they became a jumbled jell-o mess.

I listened to see if they were talking about me.

"Hey Faith, why'd you stop laughing?" Nagihiko asked.

Oh? So… her name's Faith. _Who _is this Faith?

When I turned in their direction again, I saw Faith pointing at me. Nagihiko's eyes followed her finger. Once he saw me, a smile formed on his face. At that notion, I blushed and turned away.

Knowing my legs no longer felt like jell-o I started to walk away, but then stopped when I heard his voice. "Rima-chan! Rima-chan, is that you?"

Of course, it's me. What other Rima has hair as incredibly long as mine and is as short as me?

My legs and body rotated to face them. They approached me.

"Rima-chan, it is you! How have you been?"

It took me a while to answer. I managed to say, "Fine. How about you?"

"Great," he grinned. He turned to look at the person standing next to him. "Oh, Rima-chan, this is my friend from England," he gestured toward the girl. "This is Faith Suzuki."

She stuck her hand out. "Nice to meet you Rima-chan."

At first, I didn't take her hand. I just admired her looks. She had hair similar to mine in length except hers were brown and straight. Her eyes were the color aquamarine. She was also about the same height as Amu and Yaya. I was awestruck.

"Rima-chan, are you okay?" Nagihiko waved a hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" He pointed at the hand that Faith stuck out. "Oh." I finally took it and shook it. "Nice to meet you too," I mumbled avoiding her gaze.

When we let go, Nagihiko spoke. "Well, we better get going Faith."

"Where are you going?"

"To the ice rink, then a picnic" Faith answered as she lifted a picnic basket. It was quiet until she jumped toward me and stuck her face near mine. "You know what, Rima-chan, why don't you come along?"

"Uh, I don't know how to ice skate."

"Don't worry. Neither do I, but I'm sure it'll be fun." She beamed at me.

I looked up at Nagihiko. "Yeah. Why don't you come along, Rima-chan?"

"O-okay. I guess."

**Tell me why I think about you**

**And tell me if you think about me**

**And tell me when you touch her**

**Is it really love or just another fantasy?**

At the ice rink, Nagihiko was getting the ice skates while Faith and I were waiting.

It was awkwardly quiet, so I decided to strike up a conversation. "How long have you known Nagihiko?" I asked.

She turned toward me. "Oh, Nagihiko? We've known each other since we were little. We dance together."

"You dance?"

"Yup. I was his partner for a dance competition," she trailed off. I stared at her. She was spacing out, but then shook her head after a bit. "Sorry about that. Anyways, do you know about Nagi's alter ego, Nadeshiko?"

"Yeah. They're the same person." I paused for a brief moment. "They _are_ the same person, right?"

She laughed. "Of course. Don't tell him I told you, but I'm the one who taught Nagi how to act like a girl."

Interesting. Some black-mail information.

"You know Nagi talks a lot about you and the others. I'm glad he has great friends back here."

I gave a small nod.

Nagihiko soon arrived. He handed a pair of ice skates to Faith and kept a pair for himself. As they were putting them on, he faced me. "Are you sure you don't want to ice skate, Rima-chan?"

I shook my head. "You know I suck at these things."

"So does Faith, but that doesn't stop her. She's probably even worse than you."

Faith growled at him. Afterward, she walked to the rink.

"Okay, just sit here and watch us. We'll try not to take long."

He left my side. I watched the two on the ice rink. Nagihiko skated around the rink while Faith held on to the railing for support.

I thought I was alone, but I heard a squeal come close to me. "Rima, you said we were going to get food!"

I totally forgot KusuKusu was hungry. "I can't leave now though. What will Nagihiko and Faith think?" Even if I wanted to, I couldn't give KusuKusu the food in the basket. Faith would think I'm a little piggy.

She crossed her arms. "Alright. I'll wait. You're lucky Temari and Rhythm are here." She flew out of sight.

"Rima-chan, who were you talking to just now?" I looked up to see Faith a few feet in front of me.

"Kusu-" Wait, she can't see charas. "I mean nobody."

She was suspicious at first, but dropped it. "Anyways, I'm going to attempt to ice skate in the middle. Wish me luck."

She skated away from the railing toward the middle. When she made it, she was jumping for joy. When she jumped it was no problem, but as she was coming down, her foot slipped and she was about to fall.

I stood up from my seat to see what would was going to happen.

Instead of falling and possibly injuring herself, Faith was caught by Nagihiko. "Faith, I told you not to do that. Please be careful."

When I saw Nagihiko catch her, something inside me snapped. Was that a touch of love or just a fantasy? I shook the thought away and watched them.

**And tell me does she make you laugh**

**And tell me does she make you move**

**And tell me does she get you**

**Take away your breath**

**Just tell me that it can't be true**

**What I found about you**

Nagihiko was now helping Faith ice skate around the rink. I could see Faith talking, but I couldn't hear her. It must've been funny because I saw Nagihiko laughing.

I heaved a sigh. I kind of regretted joining them.

**It feels like a nightmare**

**To see your hands in her hair**

**You seem happy ever after**

After waiting for about thirty minutes, we left the ice rink and went on a picnic in the park. When we arrived at the park, I froze. Of all the parks, did it have to be this one?

"Finally, we're here. Hey, Nagi do you remember this park?" Faith questioned as she rolled around in the grass.

He stopped pulling out the foods from the picnic basket. I noticed him stop. When I looked up, he was staring at me. "Oh, I remember it all right." He shook his head, " I mean, yes. I do remember. We did a performance here, correct?"

Faith sat up and nodded her head while I turned my head away slowly, not wanting to make eye contact.

The three of us were eating the packed sandwiches. Nagihiko's charas and my chara floated in front of our faces, hungry.

Nagihiko signaled to me. I distracted Faith while Nagihiko gave the charas a sandwich to eat. The charas frolicked off somewhere with their sandwich.

Moments went by and I was lost in thought. After I came back to my senses, I carried on eating my sandwich. As I was eating my sandwich, I observed Faith and Nagihiko across from me. Faith was still eating her sandwich, but Nagihiko had finished his.

Nagihiko scrutinized Faith. Faith saw him. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she spoke with her mouth full.

"You have grass stuck in your hair."

"Oh. Oops." Faith dropped her sandwich and tried to pick at the blades of grass stuck in her hair.

Nagihiko motioned her to stop though. "Don't worry, just eat your sandwich. I'll get them out."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'd be happy to." He gave her a grin as she picked up her sandwich and leaned on Nagihiko. Nagihiko started to remove the grass from her hair.

I studied them as I kept nibbling on my sandwich. I don't know why, but it feels like a nightmare to see his hands in her hair. It feels even worse knowing that he's happy.

**I'm stuck in denial**

**I can't fake a smile**

**You play innocent **

**It's so damn hard**

Why have I been feeling this way all day? Is it because I love…

Wait… no! I don't love, let alone like, that cross-dressing purple-headed lying goes to Europe and doesn't tell me play-boy. And I refuse to ever again.

As I finished thinking that, I tried knocking the thought of even liking Nagihiko out of my head. But, it wasn't working. I literally tried slapping it out of my head, but I got a confused and suspicious look from the people across me.

"Everything alright, Rima-chan?" Faith asked.

"Yes. Everything's great." I faked a smile.

Silence ensued. After a while though, Nagihiko broke it. "Faith, do you mind going to check if the ice cream cart's here?"

Faith got up. "Sure," she cheered. "Then I'll come back and ask you guys what flavors you want. It'll be my treat." She skipped off.

I faced forward. Oh, great. I'm here alone with Nagihiko. Why now of all times? I remained as quiet as I could be which really wasn't that difficult. I was getting used to the stillness.

"Rima-chan," Nagihiko began.

I attempted not to look or answer him, but it was no use. "What is it?"

What is he going to say? Does he remember the letter?

"Why are you faking a smile?"

I stiffened. He can still see right through me. I made an effort to remain calm. "What are you talking about?"

"Rima, I can see through your act. I knew something was bothering you right after we left the ice rink. What's the problem?"

"None of your business… cross-dresser." I replied coldly.

He was shocked when I called him that. I was actually shocked myself.

"Rima-chan, did I do something wrong?"

He knows what he did. How can he play so innocent?

I stood up and pointed a finger at him. "You know very well what you did." Anger was boiling inside me for reasons I don't understand.

He stood up too, but he kept his voice composed. "Really, Rima-chan is something the matter?" He walked toward me, his hand outstretched.

I slapped his hand away before he placed it on me. "Leave me alone." I hesitated, but eventually shouted, "I hate you and I always will!"

Nagihiko jumped a little. Hurt.

**Slow down**

**I want back what's mine**

**Can we rewind?**

"I'm back. I just decided to get random flavors- What's going on?"

I turned to my right and saw Faith. The rage inside me reached the top and exploded. I faced Nagihiko. "Nagihiko," I screamed, "I never want to see you again!"

I ran away from the scene with Faith and Nagihiko calling my name.

**Tell me why I think about you**

**And tell me if you think about me**

**And tell me when you touch her**

**Is it really love or just another fantasy?**

I quickened my pace as soon as I left the park. I had no idea where to go or where I was going, but I kept running. Thoughts of Nagihiko filled my mind.

Why do I keep thinking about him? Why?

But I do wonder, does he think about me? And whenever he's with Faith does he feel love like how he said he loved me in his letter? Or is it all a fantasy?

**And tell me does she make you laugh**

**And tell me does she make you move**

**And tell me does she get you**

**Take away your breath**

**Just tell me that it can't be true**

**What I found about you**

Then again… maybe it's not.

Faith's known Nagihiko longer than I have. She most likely makes Nagihiko laugh more than I do. She gets and understands him. Faith and Nagihiko are perfect for each…

No. This all can't be true!

My running started to slow down until it was a complete stop.

**So much for happy endings**

**So much for miracles**

**So much for trusting**

**It- It feels so typical**

**I miss you**

**I miss you**

I stared at the ground full of dark spots. I hadn't realized it, but I was crying. My tears traveled down my cheeks and landed on the ground.

So much for a happy ending in my life. So much for the miracle that I'd actually be happy. So much for giving my trust to people.

This feels so typical.

From where I was standing, I crouched down and formed into a little ball. Tears were still falling when I felt someone beside me.

"Rima, there you are! Why did you leave- Why are you crying?"

KusuKusu. I didn't answer her. She patted my back to show that it was okay for me not to answer. I buried my head deeper.

I felt awful for saying those things to Nagihiko. He's bound to never look or talk to me again.

When Nagihiko left for Europe I indeed missed him, but why did I? Why was it when I saw him for the first time today, I was happy? And why is it when I saw Nagihiko and Faith together, I was hurt?

Answers struck my head immediately.

I thought about them for a while and then came to a decision. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, the answers I thought of were… right.

The anger that was boiling inside me that lashed out at Nagihiko was jealousy. I was jealous of Faith.

And the other… Even though I said I would never feel that way again, I'm going to give in and admit it because I'm tired of fighting it. I feel this way because…

I'm in love with Nagihiko.

**We were picture perfect**

**Flawless on the surface**

**We were walking on a straight line**

"Rima, are you sure you're okay? I could've gone to the meeting and told the others."

"Don't worry about it KusuKusu."

On my way to another guardian meeting. Yesterday after I came home from running and crying around the city, my parents got into another argument. I assured them I was alright, but they kept fighting. I had to convince them to let me go to the meeting today. I sighed.

KusuKusu and I reached the royal garden. I pulled open the door and walked inside. I knew I was the last one to arrive because I heard the other guardians in a conversation.

"It's really great to have you back, Fujisaki-san."

"Nagi! Yaya missed you."

"Nagihiko how was Europe?"

"Did the Jack's chair show the people at the dance competition who's boss?"

I looked up at the table where my friends sat and made my way there, very slowly. I took a seat and it got quiet.

"Rima-tan! There you are. Look who's back," she motioned toward Nagihiko.

Just as I thought, Nagihiko didn't look at me or say anything. I kept quiet myself.

"Jack. Queen. What's up with you two? I thought you two would be talking up a storm."

Again, nothing. The other four left the table and went to discuss, most likely about our behaviors. Obviously, Nagihiko didn't tell them about yesterday.

I glanced over at him right when he was glancing at me. We turned away from each other.

Then, we put our attention to the four guardians at the door. "We forgot we had to do something in Tsukasa's office. Stay here until we come back." They ran out.

Could they make it anymore obvious?

**Tell me why I think about you**

**And tell me if you think about me**

**And tell me when you touch her**

**Is it really love or just another fantasy?**

It was just Nagihiko and I now. Even the charas left. How was I supposed to talk to him?

I placed a hand on my heart. Thinking of him made my heart ache, but I have to do something about it.

I extended my arm across the table and looked in the opposite direction. Well, here goes nothing. "Um about yesterday, I'm-"

I gazed at my hand on the table. Nagihiko had placed his hand on top of mine.

"I'm sorry for whatever I did, Rima-chan. Please forgive me?" he asked. He presented a small smile.

"O-of course." I blushed. "I should be saying that to you though. I yelled at you and…"

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Just as long as we're still friends." His small smile turned into a big one.

I blushed yet again. I nodded. That was fast.

"Anyways we better tell the others everything's alright, so we can start the meeting." He got up from his chair. "Shall we Rima-chan?"

I got up from my seat and followed him. "Right."

We walked toward the door together. The door burst open right as we were about to open it.

**And tell me does she make you laugh**

**And tell me does she make you scream**

**And tell me it's over**

**It's only a dream**

**What I found about you**

"Oww!" Nagihiko and I yelped as we rubbed our heads.

"Nagi, there you are!" At the entrance stood Faith.

"Faith, what are you doing here? How did you even get here for that matter?"

"I'm here to tell you we have dance practice." Before Nagihiko could question, Faith stuck her finger up. "If you don't think I'm telling the truth, then go ask your mother in the parking lot."

"She's here!"

"Yes! So we better go before she grows impatient. Come on." In one swift motion, Faith grabbed Nagihiko's wrist and was about to leave. "Hi and bye Rima-chan."

"Tell the others where I went, Rima-chan." I watched Faith and Nagihiko run. In a couple of moments they were out of sight.

**And tell me does she get you**

**Take away your breath**

**Just tell me that it can't be true**

**What I found out about you**

I retook a seat at the table right as the guardians came back. "Rima, where's Nagihiko? Is everything okay between you two?" Amu inquired.

"He had dance practice," I answered. "And don't worry. Everything's fine again."

They all signaled with a nod and a thumbs-up before taking a seat. We then began the guardian meeting.

**And tell me does she get you**

**Take away your breath**

**Just tell me that it can't be true**

**What I found out about you**

After the guardian meeting I walked home with KusuKusu.

"You seem better, Rima."

I offered a tiny smile. I was happy that Nagihiko didn't hate me even after all the things I said to him. But I hated how he had to leave with Faith for "dance practice."

We walked in silence for a few blocks when I noticed KusuKusu stop and was staring at something. I followed her gaze to see Faith and Nagihiko on the opposite side of the street. I quickly took KusuKusu and hid behind something. I thought they had dance practice!

I was too far away to hear what Nagihiko was saying, but to me it looked like he was screaming at her. Faith on the other hand, looked like she was in tears.

Does that mean it's over between them?

I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen next. Instead of Nagihiko walking away with her following, he pulled Faith into a hug.

My heart was crushed. I rubbed my eyes to see if it was only a dream. But… it wasn't.

Nagihiko and Faith broke from the hug. Nagihiko wiped the tears away from Faith's face before taking her hand and leading her probably back to his house.

I winced before I took off in the opposite direction of my house. I needed to run and run like yesterday and because Faith and Nagihiko were going the way I was supposed to.

This is what I found out about Nagihiko. Because of it, I couldn't breathe. And I need… oxygen.

To be continued…

* * *

Ha, Rima's getting what she deserves… uh, I was just kidding. Everything will be explained in good time.

With the lyrics or without the lyrics: that's the question.

Wow. O_o I swear this chapter epically failed so, constructive criticism please.


	5. Oxygen

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _Oxygen_ by Colbie Caillat.

* * *

_**Oxygen**_

I've stopped running around the city and began walking home. KusuKusu was by my side, quiet as she could be, not wanting to do or say anything that might make me sadder.

I sighed as my feet kept walking the route to my house. I started to think in the silence. I thought up questions and thought up answers for those questions.

I froze in place when I came up with a question I didn't want an answer to.

What else could possibly go wrong?

* * *

"Rima, I'm leaving. Come give Papa a hug." I stood still, not wanting to give him a goodbye hug. Nonetheless, he bent down to my level and gave me a hug. He whispered, "Don't be sad. Although Papa and Mama are separating, you'll always be Papa's little angel. You can visit me anytime you want."

I remained motionless. My mom tried easing the situation by giving her input. "We've really thought this decision over. It's what's best for you, Rima."

I listened to their words and finally gave in and hugged my dad back. I guess I understand. I'm not a little kid anymore. I am in middle school after all.

My dad was embracing me still. "Mama's right, Rima. Even though we're apart, it won't change our family at all. Right?" He got up.

I smiled softly. "Right," I answered.

"Well since that's taken care of, I better be going." My mom handed him his suitcases and walked with him to his car.

There I stayed standing.

Three weeks of trying to think of things that could possibly go wrong, I finally had one. My once happy and loving parents divorcing.

After I could no longer hear my dad's car, my mom came inside. She saw me planted to the same spot. She presented a tender smile before going to her room. Once she shut her door, KusuKusu hovered to me. Then I went out the front door.

I was miserable inside. I came apart with all my parents fighting. I needed to get rid of it.

I paced myself this time. My head was hung low staring at the ground, watching my feet take tiny steps.

With each step, I noticed more and more dark spots around me. I touched my cheeks and felt they were wet. I was crying. At least KusuKusu is the only one who's going to see. I'll run if I see anyone I know and then I'll dry my eyes before returning home.

My spirits were rising a bit, but my head was still hung low.

"Rima," KusuKusu spoke, "there's a corner coming up."

I didn't bother to look up. I kept walking, my eyes fixed on the ground. I could probably tell when to turn the corner because the sidewalk would round.

I committed to the direction. Everything was quiet, except for KusuKusu humming and my sniffling.

My eyes wandered a couple feet to see the corner coming up. I slowly lifted my head as I approached it. Right as I was about to turn the corner and my head was lifted up, I collided with something bigger than me and fell to the ground.

KusuKusu came to my side. "Rima, are you okay?"

I rubbed my head. "Oww! Watch where you're going next time!" I snapped. I know it was a little rude for me to say that considering I wasn't looking where I was going either, but may I remind you _I_ was the one that fell.

I was going to get up by myself, but the person I bumped into stuck their hand out to me. "Sorry about that Rima-chan."

My eyes widened when I heard my name. His voice was familiar. I followed the hand outstretched to the person it belonged to.

"Anytime now, Rima-chan," Nagihiko chuckled.

I took his hand and he helped me up. I dusted off my skirt before turning to look at him. He held a basketball in his other hand and was dressed in his basketball uniform.

I saw him smirk at me. "What, no thank you?"

I turned my head away from him. "No. You're the one that bumped into me." I had to turn my head away. My eyes were probably watery and puffy from crying.

He chuckled again. "You're right, Rima-chan. I bumped into you." I heard him approaching me. He was now standing in front of me. "Why don't I…" he trailed off. I raised my head a little to see him staring directly at me.

After a few moments of silence, I decided to walk away. I stepped backwards and was going to turn and run. I was wishing Nagihiko wouldn't do anything.

After turning around and taking a few steps forward, my wish didn't come true. Nagihiko grabbed my wrist, preventing me from going anywhere.

I spun to look at him. His face was full of concern and worry.

"Rima-chan, were you crying?" he gently asked.

I stayed quiet and avoided his eyes.

When I finally looked up I saw KusuKusu next to him. "Rima's been crying. She's sad." Traitor!

"I see," he replied. He turned back to me to give a smile. "Rhythm, Temari," Nagihiko's charas joined him by his side, "why don't you two and KusuKusu go enjoy a day off today, okay? I want to spend a day with Rima."

Before I could protest, Rhythm, Temari and KusuKusu shouted, "Yay! Okay, we'll see you later!" and flew out of sight.

I'm giving KusuKusu a talk when she gets home.

Since it was just Nagihiko and I, he dropped my wrist. As soon as he did, I quickly pulled it toward me, folded my arms across my chest and pouted. "Why'd you send my chara away?" I questioned while sounding annoyed.

"Because I thought since you seem depressed, the two of us could spend today together."

"Why do you care?" I asked angrier than I really was.

He sighed as if it was really obvious. The truth is it actually was obvious. I just wanted to hear him say it.

"Don't you remember? It's because when you're sad, you frown. It hurts me to see you frown. I'd rather see your beautiful smile."

I know that was my cue to smile, but instead of smiling I stared with a blank expression.

"I can tell this is going to be a long day." He sighed before continuing. "No matter what it takes though, I'm going to get you to smile. So, spend the day with me. Please, Rima-chan?" He held out his hand toward me, making a puppy dog face.

It took a lot not to blush or smile right then and there. I managed. I kept looking at Nagihiko's face and hand back and forth. I made it look like I was thinking about it. I didn't want him to think I was eager, although I am.

My hand made its way toward his slowly. When my hand rested on top of his hand, his fingers wrapped around mine, he gave it a little squeeze and a big grin formed on his face.

"Thanks, Rima." He started walking with me following. He took bigger steps than I did so; I was struggling to keep up. I fell over my feet once. I quickly got up before he turned to look at me. "Before we go somewhere, I have to drop off my basketball and change out of my uniform."

"Yeah, whatever," I muttered. Nagihiko faced forward. When I was positive he wasn't looking, I slightly smiled. I can't wait.

* * *

"Here you go Young Master." An old man wearing a blue hat and kimono with a white apron handed us a tray of food.

"Thank you," Nagihiko responded. The old man vanished inside his store.

Since I hadn't had lunch, I began stuffing my face. The man did say to help ourselves.

Nagihiko caught me and laughed. I rolled my eyes at him and glared.

"Sorry, Rima-chan. You know you could have told me earlier that you were hungry." I sat with a serious expression. "Okay, then," he trailed off. "Where do you want to go next?"

"Nowhere with you," I replied.

Nagihiko sighed. "You're really stubborn sometimes." Well was this my idea to come here… no. I was about to space out until he spoke again. "But that's okay, I like you the way you are."

Is he doing this on purpose? I resisted to blush and succeeded once again. "Uh sure, you do." I scooted toward him to get the rest of the food, but scooted back to where I was sitting.

"And to think, I could've lost you."

My eyes widened as I bit into a rice ball. I turned toward him. What did he say? I finished chewing before I asked. I moved toward him. "Wait, what did you just say? How could you lose me?"

He smirked. "Oh, now you're interested?" I turned my head away. I forgot I wasn't supposed to sound like I cared or was interested. I felt his hand go on top of mine. I looked up at him. "Don't worry I'll tell you, as long as you stay with me until the end of the day, you tell me why you were crying and you smile for me."

I stared at him like he was insane. He was pushing his limits. Sure I wanted to do all those things, but I couldn't. I slipped my hand underneath his, folded my arms and pouted. "Yeah, right. I'd rather be locked in a room with a hyper Yaya."

"Fine." I saw from the corner of my eye that he folded his arms and put them behind his head. "Then I guess I won't tell you." He had one eye closed, one eye open and a smirk on his face.

It became quiet. I couldn't take it; I wanted to know. "Alright, then. Deal." I stared at the ground, waiting for Nagihiko to tell me. But instead, he stood in front of me and reached out his hand. "I thought you were going to tell me," I yelled.

"I will." He reached and grabbed my hand. "Let's go for a walk and I'll tell you."

"Alright, but you better tell me." I stood up and snatched the last rice ball while Nagihiko was telling the old man goodbye.

We were walking in a place I didn't know. It seemed like a park, though.

I gazed at my surroundings. There were bushes and trees everywhere and a stone paved path was underneath our feet.

After I took in more of my surroundings, Nagihiko inquired, "Did you still want me to tell you?"

I glared at him again. "No, that's why I'm walking with you here," I remarked sarcastically.

"Okay. Well you know how I ran into you earlier and I was in my basketball uniform, somebody challenged me to a game."

I _was_ wondering why he was wearing his uniform. "That doesn't explain anything."

"Be patient, Rima-chan, I'm getting there." He stopped and thought about it. "When I tell you who challenged me, you'll understand everything."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Who challenged you?"

He smiled softly at me before answering. "Kirishma-kun."

If I was smiling that moment, which I wasn't, it would've disappeared in a flash. I was still a little confused about one thing. "Why did he challenge you?" Although, I could kind of tell why. We began walking again.

"Oh, the real reason he challenged me was to see who'd be captain of the basketball team. Ever since I returned from Europe, the coach asked us to play a game against each other to see who deserves to be captain."

I nodded my head, signaling that I was listening to him and for him to continue.

"So earlier today, I was not going to try at all since Kirishma-kun seemed to want the position more than I did, but right as we were about to play, he raised the stakes. If I lost not only would he be captain, but I'd have to… stay away from you."

I faced him with my eyes enlarged. "What happened? Who won?"

He chuckled. "Rima, I'm with you right now. Who do you think won?"

"Oh, oops." I would've laughed, but I didn't want to smile yet. I'm waiting for the right moment. Instead I turned red, not from blushing, but from embarrassment not knowing Nagihiko obviously won.

"Don't worry about it." The smile that once was on his face faded and in its place was a serious appearance. "Rima-chan, I've been back for a month and you never told me you broke up with Kirishma-kun."

Like I wanted to tell him. "Sorry," I uttered.

He stopped walking again. "Why are you sorry? I'm sorry he was such a jerk to you. I'm glad you found out about his true self. You deserve someone better." Nagihiko walked ahead of me.

A cool breeze blew and made my hair dance. Yeah, I do deserve someone better. Someone like you. I placed my hands on top of my heart. But how am I supposed to tell you how I feel? I need oxygen.

"Rima-chan, are you coming?"

I removed my hands from my heart, before he saw anything. "Yeah, I'm coming." I ran to catch up to him.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Nagihiko and I have literally been walking for hours. I don't even think we're in Japan anymore.

"I insisted that we'd take a shortcut, but then you got worried that we'd get lost." I scowled at him. "Careful Rima-chan, your face might get stuck that way."

I rolled my eyes at him. "At least I'm not a-"

_Bark! Bark! Bark! _

I stopped in mid-sentence and jumped when I saw a scruffy white dog barking at me. I was panicking as it came closer and closer, barking and snarling at me, showing its teeth.

I went behind Nagihiko who was rather calm about this vicious dog. Can't he see it could bite a head off?

"Benkei, it's me." I watched Nagihiko take a step forward toward the rabid dog. He bent down to pet it. The dog responded by licking him.

I joined Nagihiko, seeing the dog had settled down. "You know this dog?"

"Yup. Faith and I would sneak out of dance practice sometimes when we were little and we'd come here. This dog would also show up, so we played with it and named it."

"Speaking of Faith, where is she?" I twitched.

Nagihiko pondered awhile. "Oh, she's shopping with my mom. I swear that girl only does four things: sleep, eat, dance and shop." He resumed petting the dog.

If I was Nagihiko's girl, I'd try to always make him happy. I would never leave him. I watched Nagihiko play with Benkei. Inside, I was going crazy over him.

"Rima-chan! Rima-chan!" Nagihiko snapped me out of my thoughts. "Do you want to pet him?"

I thought it over. "Uh, okay."

He grabbed my hand. "Here." He was going to place it on Benkei's fur.

Before he placed it, I pulled my hand away. "I know how to pet a dog." I bent down and stroked his fur, but he barked at me. I stepped back. "What did I do wrong?" I faced Nagihiko for an explanation.

"Try and be gentler. Like this." He got my hand again and placed it on the dog. Nagihiko guided me on how to pet him. This time, Benkei wagged his tail and let out a happy woof.

Nagihiko took his hand off mine, but I kept petting him. He started to lick me. I laughed for a second, but stopped and held it in.

Nagihiko snapped his fingers. "I almost got you to smile."

I stood up. "Yeah, the keyword being _almost_. You'll have to try harder." Benkei ran from us to chase a butterfly. I went ahead. I stopped after a couple of steps. "Let's keep going, kay?" I slightly turned to him.

He smiled, probably thinking of a plan to make me smile. Well, it won't be long now.

* * *

"Are we almost there," I whined.

"And… we're here!"

I breathed a sigh of relief as we reached our final destination for today. This is Nagihiko's last chance to make me smile.

He removed his hands from my eyes to reveal… trees and bushes. Wait a second. "Isn't this the park we were at a couple of hours ago?"

"Yeah."

"Why are we back here?" I asked, irritated and tired.

"I don't know." Nagihiko walked ahead while I stood there tapping my foot aggravated.**  
**

"Let me get this straight. You make me spend the day with you. You drag me through this park once, around the city, then you lead me back here. Yeah, that's _not_ a wasted day."

I listened for Nagihiko's comeback. There was nothing. I started to get anxious. Then I thought of something.

"If this is your idea of a joke to make me laugh, it's not working." Again, there was silence. Now, I was concerned. I left my spot in search of him. He couldn't have gone far. I called his name several times, but no reply.

In a brief amount of time, I had to stop and rest. Something sparkly caught my eye, thus I followed it. I was shocked, not because of the lake I saw, but because I saw Nagihiko's jacket lying on the ground, close to the water.

I walked to the water's edge, bent down and examined inside the looking glass. I couldn't see anything. "Nagihiko, where are you?"

As soon as I finished my question, a hand shot out from the water, grabbed my wrist and pulled me in. I let out a yelp as I splashed into the lake.

Once I floated to the surface, I looked for the source that pulled me in and to my surprise I saw the purple-headed cross-dresser. "I'm right here," he answered grinning.

I didn't know what to do, so I blurted out questions. "What? But how did you? Why did you? Where did you? When did you?"

"Will you be completing any of those questions?" he inquired smirking.

It was quiet as I stared at him for the longest time. And before I knew it, something came over me and I burst out laughing.

"Ha! I finally got you to laugh."

I was still laughing as I splashed him with water. "I hate you Nagihiko Fujisaki," I said playfully. Few moments later, my laugh faded into a smile.

Across from me, Nagihiko returned the smile before breathing a sigh of relief. "Phew, it worked."

My simple smile was replaced by a perplexed expression. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I didn't know how you would react when I did this. Either you would have smiled, like I was hoping, or you would have killed me like you were going to the time I did this same thing to you, but in a dirt hole."

I remember that. Amu stopped me right as I was about to attack him. What would've happened if I did attack? My thoughts were interrupted when Nagihiko got out of the lake and extended his hand to me.

He didn't want me to keep waiting in the lake, but right then I stared at his fingers feeling like a fool. I eventually took it and he helped me out.

I began shivering when I came out. The sun was setting and it was getting dark and cold. I'm bound to catch a cold.

But then, I felt something warm wrap around me. I looked up to see Nagihiko putting his jacket on me, smiling. "Here, I wouldn't want you to catch a cold." I inspected the jacket. "I know I only accomplished two of the three things I wanted, but we better get home." He went ahead, taking a couple of steps forward.

"Two out of three?"

He stopped in mid-step and rotated to face me. "Yeah, you haven't told me the reason you were crying earlier, but that's okay. It's getting late. Your parents must be getting worried."

When I heard him say _parents_, I immediately recalled earlier today. I thought about it and came to a conclusion to tell him the reason as a thank you present for today. I went to his side.

"Uh Nagihiko, about that…"

* * *

"It makes perfect sense now," Nagihiko said after I told him my long story.

I figured he'd say that. After I told him, I'd tell him the reason I was crying, he wanted to walk me home. We were almost to my house; it was only two blocks away. "Yeah, it makes perfect sense. I'm the reason that my parents divorced," I whispered, holding back the tears.

Nagihiko halted, shocked at what I said. "Rima, that's not true. Your parents both love you. If you made a list of people who were to blame, you certainly wouldn't be on the list."

"How can you say that? Sure, they say they both love me, but sometimes they have a funny way of showing it. Like fighting every night over a stupid reason like who loves me more. They fight and fight over that reason and yet, they don't show it. They care more about winning the argument than actually about me. They make me feel neglected and abandoned. I feel so lonely. No one's ever there for me."

Nagihiko listened to each word. When I was done, he wrapped his arms around to hug me. "Don't worry, Rima-chan. Your parents might not always be there for you or neither will the other guardians, but I'm always going to be there for you, no matter what."

He let go of me and we continued walking to my house. When we reached the gate Nagihiko was turning to leave, that is, until I stopped him. "Thanks again, Nagi," I whispered. I smiled to show him I really meant it.

He watched me for a bit and then smiled as well. "No problem, Rima. I got you to smile and that's what matters. Whenever I see your smile, I get this feeling inside and I can't help, but be happy and smile back. It's like you were born to make me happy."

I smiled at that, though, I was wondering if he meant it.

When he was going to say goodbye, I knew that a simple thank you or completing the three things he wanted wasn't enough, so I came up with another idea. Before he was going to walk home, I told him to wait. I needed to live and breathe oxygen. When I did, I took a step toward him, stood on my tiptoes and kissed him softly on the cheek before going back down.

I stepped away from him and ran to the door. I offered one final look at him. I saw him smile like none I've ever seen him smile before. I thanked him one more time and went inside.

I opened the door to my house and found my mom sitting on the couch watching TV. She turned off the TV when she saw me walk in.

"Rima," my mother beckoned.

"What is it, Mama?"

"I have something to tell you. After Papa left and I walked into my room, I realized we sort of neglected you, made you feel abandoned and made it seem like this was your fault. I wanted to tell you, though, that it's not your fault. If anything, I wanted to make sure you knew that because we love you very much, Rima."

"Thanks, Mama." She approached me and bent down to give me a hug. She backed away and examined me from head to toe. I also looked at myself. I was soaking wet and wearing Nagihiko's jacket. Get ready to be in trouble. I lifted my head up to see my mom finish inspecting me. She genuinely smiled.

"Anyways, Rima, I was planning to spend mother and daughter time with you, but I can see you already had a productive day. Why don't we have mother and daughter time Friday after school?"

I nodded my head and smiled. "Okay."

My mother returned the smile. "Now that's taken care of, why don't you go change out of your wet clothes and I'll go get dinner started?"

We broke from our position. She made her way to the kitchen and I made my way to my room.

When I reached my room and shut the door, KusuKusu flew in through the window. I didn't take much notice of her as I took off Nagihiko's jacket and got out my dry clothes, humming a soft melody.

"Yay, Rima! You're happy again!" she giggled.

I smiled for her. "I am." I found out my parents _really_ love me.

"That's good because it's not tears that suit you." KusuKusu flew around my room, pausing for dramatic effect. "It's a smile!" I giggled at her comment. "I should know, I was born from your desire to make others laugh. It's almost like I was born to make you happy and then you were born to make others happy."

I looked at KusuKusu. She said the exact thing as Nagihiko. I at first was skeptical about that, but now, I guess it's true. KusuKusu floated toward my bed, giggled and yawned before going into her egg.

I giggled myself. I changed out of my wet clothes into dry ones. I stared at Nagihiko's jacket that was spread out on my bed. I went over to my shelf of gag manga, pulled a volume out and shook it upside down. The picture I hid in there drifted to the ground. I picked it up and went back to my bed. I switched my gaze from the picture to the jacket.

I gazed at the picture in my hands. A picture of the day we graduated elementary, the guardians and I, except Nagihiko faced the camera. Nagihiko faced me. Although it kind of ruined the shot, it was okay because he had the biggest smile out of all of us.

I laid the picture next to his jacked smiling, knowing I was born to make Nagihiko happy.

To be continued

* * *

I know, I know. Part of this chapter was like Shugo Chara Encore 2 and Shugo Chara episode 25. I didn't realize it until my two friends read it and told me. *Face-palms* Hopefully, I can redeem myself next chapter. And remember, everything will be explained in good time.

I failed, so constructive criticism please.


	6. Born to Make You Happy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _Born to Make You Happy _by Britney Spears.

_**Born to Make You Happy**_

I'm sitting alone in my room, thinking about what's happened in the past few weeks.

For starters, Yaya increased her candy and sweets intake by 25%. Shocking, isn't it? Not. Next Amu, my pink-haired best friend, can't decide if she's in love with Ikuto or Tadase. You might as well slap 'I live in a cliché love story' on her forehead.

As for Tadase and Ikuto, even though they patched up their grudge from a long time ago, another one might evoke because of Amu. Kukai has been hanging around the guardians a lot lately, claiming that's he's our "big brother" and he should spend time with us. Faith, after finding out she'll be staying in Japan for awhile, enrolled in Seiyo as a student. She couldn't be a guardian since she can't see or doesn't have a chara.

Lastly Nagihiko...

Let's just say, he has no idea I've fallen for him. I mean if you despised a person for so many years for no reason then developed a crush on them, what would you do? Would you tell the person? I'm pretty sure if I told Nagihiko; he'd either not believe me or say something about how Faith is better.

He might think that because nothing has changed. I keep picking fights and insulting him, in hopes he or the other guardians won't catch on. And to my understanding, none of them have. At least, I know I was born to make him happy.

I spread out on my bed stretching, ready to take a nap, when I was interrupted by my phone vibrating. I got up and walked over to my desk, picked it up and inspected the number. I didn't have a clue who it was.

I decided to answer it. I flipped it open and spoke. My voice came out shaky and nervous. "H-hello?"

"It took you long enough to answer!"

I removed the phone from my ear to study the number on the phone. I still had no idea who this person was, but she sounded so familiar. "Uh, who is this?" It's worth a shot to ask. The worst thing the person could do is yell in my ear.

The person grunted. "It's Utau Hoshina."

My eyes widened at her name, not because an idol's calling me, but more of _why_ is she calling me? I barely talk, let alone know her. The only things I know are she's Ikuto's little sister, she's a singing idol and we beat her in a battle when she was with Easter.

"Okay," I started slowly. "Why are you-?"

"I'm a little busy, so I'm just going to cut to the chase. Amu was too busy to call you herself so; she made me do it, which I don't get at all, seeing as I'm probably busier than her! Anyways since you're her friend, I might as well invite you to my concert this coming week at the music and art festival. It's my first concert returning to Japan after my tour, so I _hope_ you can make it."

I can't tell if she's being serious or sarcastic. At any rate, what do I have to lose? "Sure I'll be there, but-"

"Okay, then. Meet everyone at the clock pole on Sunday noon sharp. My concert's at eight, so you and the others can wander around the festival before it starts. Don't be late! Bye."

She hung up and the line went dead. I blinked a couple of times before shutting my phone. Geez, what's her problem? I sighed as I put my phone back on the table. I was going to say that I had to ask my mom first, but I was rudely interrupted. Idols these days.

I fell back on my bed, cuddled my pink pig pillow and took the nap I wanted until KusuKusu, who went to Kiseki's chara meeting, or Mama, who went grocery shopping, would come home and wake me up.

_"I don't know how to live without your love"_

The clock was chiming noon as KusuKusu and I reached the others. Phew, made it!

"Ah, there you are Queen. Trying to show up fashionably late?" Kukai joked. I glared at him.

"Since everyone's here," Tadase stated, "why don't we all head to the festival?"

Before anyone could respond, Yaya grabbed Amu and my wrist. "Let's go!"

When we reached the festival entrance, we came to a little surprise. At the doorway stood the tall blue haired and blue eyed older brother of Utau.

I turned to Amu to see her blushing. She tried to hide behind me. The keyword being _tried_. I'm way shorter than her!

"Ikuto-niisan, what are you doing here?" Tadase questioned.

"Utau asked me to wait for you guys out here." Ikuto averted his eyes to the pink haired girl behind me. "Oh, is someone trying to hide from me?"

Amu stood up and crossed her arms. She turned her head away from Ikuto. "No!" Even though that's what she said, none of us believed her.

Ikuto chuckled at her attempt to not blush. Amu is such a spaz. Once that was all over, Ikuto led us into the festival and showed us the way to the concert arena.

He gestured toward the stage. "This is where the concert will be and will start around eight."

El and Il flew to us from out of nowhere. "Glad you could make it. We're all very grateful," El sing-songed.

"No problem, El. We're happy to be here," Amu replied joyfully.

"Who's El, Amu-chan?" Faith inquired.

Crap. I forgot she was with us. Amu started to spaz, thinking of an excuse.

When unexpectedly, Utau popped her head out of the curtains, distracting Faith from the answer to her question. We let out a sigh of relief. The charas then vowed not to ask or talk to us in front of Faith.

"Thanks Ikuto, I'll take it from here. Go and do what Ikuto's do best." Ikuto didn't listen to Utau. Instead, he stood his ground. "Why aren't you moving? I doubt you want to listen to me rehearse all day."

"You're right. I'm just waiting for Amu." He smirked at her and of course, in return Amu blushed.

"Whatever." Utau went over to her manager and handed us tickets. "You're my guests, so I'm treating you all to free food."

Uh, oh. This can't be good. Free food and Yaya? She'll most likely be eating sweets.

I could tell the others figured that out also because they began to tense up.

Utau distributed the tickets to everyone. When she handed one to Yaya she clarified that hers was limited at dessert booths, meaning Yaya can't go overboard with sweets. Perfect. Utau thinks of everything.

After receiving six "thank yous" and one "aww, no one ever trusts me with sweets," Utau began to rehearse and we commenced to the festival.

Since all of us wanted to do something different and we wouldn't have enough time, we decided to split up and only meet up at the concert arena when we were done browsing.

"We'll split up in pairs," Tadase stated.

Faster than lightning, Amu went over to Yaya and shouted, "I'll be with Yaya to make sure she doesn't eat any sweets, let alone look at one." How can anyone argue with that? Now all I can say is good luck Amu.

Ikuto sighed. "Well I'm not going to bother with the candy baby even if I'll be with Amu, so I'll be with Kiddy-King."

Tadase let that nickname slide, but I could tell he felt rage inside…

"I'll be with Fujisaki-kun. That way, the previous and current Jacks can bond," Kukai explained with his trademark grin while putting his arm around Nagihiko.

In the time it took for Nagihiko to agree, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Guess you're with me, Rima-chan," Faith declared with a smile.

"Everyone has a pair, so… now let's have fun!" Yaya yelled. She ran off in a direction. Before Amu chased after her, she mumbled to herself that today was going to be a long day.

The rest of us walked away with our partners and our charas in suit.

KusuKusu and I were walking behind Faith, eyeing each other. I didn't know how to talk to her. Although, she's been in Japan a while and she goes to the school, I still feel like I don't _really_ know her, except for the things Nagihiko told the other guardians and me about.

I sighed.

"Rima-chan," Faith called out. She stopped walking and turned around to look at me. "What do you want to do first? I'm up for anything." She smiled again.

I looked around and was going to shrug with "I don't know," when suddenly I heard the familiar phrase of "Bala-balance."

KusuKusu floated to my ear. "Rima, can we please go there?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "Faith might not like comedy-"

"Oh, you want to go there?" She pointed at the stage with the comedians. "I don't mind. Let's go." She grabbed my hand and we went toward the show.

_"You're the only one within my heart"_

"Having fun, Rima-chan?" Faith asked.

I nodded. How could I not? At the comedy show, Faith contradicted everything the comedians said. She has a pretty good sense of humor, I have to admit. Next we had free lunch, complements of Utau. After that, we went to two other comedy shows. Now, we're just walking around.

I was somewhat glad I was with Faith. I learned more about her. Though, I still wonder about her and Nagihiko.

I frowned a little and a tear slipped out. Faith noticed. "Something wrong?" I quickly shook my head and wiped the tear. She was in disbelief. "Tell me. Tell me. Tell me!"

This is something I found about her. Faith lacks patience.

I thought up something. "We haven't done what you wanted yet."

"That's all you were sad about. Don't worry. I don't care as long as you're having fun."

Another thing I learned. She's a people person. It kind of annoyed me a little.

In that case, maybe I'll pick something she likes. I spun around and found something. I pointed at a dance show. "I say we go there."

Faith stiffened, but agreed to it, nonetheless.

We made it to the stage as the show was starting. During the whole dance, Faith seemed to get sadder and sadder. That's weird. I thought she loved dancing.

Once the show was over, we walked away. I nudged her on the shoulder. "Faith, didn't you like that? I thought you loved dancing."

"I do. It's just…" She sighed. I could tell a story was coming on. I signaled for her to continue.

We went over to a bench to sit. Faith thought a little and began her story.

"Back when I was living in Japan, Nagi's family taught my family all about dancing. I trained alongside Nagi. Time passed and I really loved dancing. But, unfortunately, there was an accident.

And that day I blamed dancing for the accident so, I gave up on it. My family moved to England shortly after. Dancing was completely out of my life until Nagi showed up a couple months ago asking me to enter the dance competition with him.

I hesitated, but agreed. During the competition, I froze on stage, thinking about the accident. Nagi had to improvise our dance. When that was over, my family suggested I'd come to Japan to dance again.

At my first dance practice here, I gave up again and ran out of the room crying. Nagi had to run and get me. On our way back, he told me to be courageous and have perseverance. I promised I would, but I just can't be. I'm just not good at dancing anymore."

Faith finished her story. I felt sorry for her. Faith stood up from the bench.

"Hey Rima-chan, do you mind if we split up and I'll meet you and everyone at the stage? I need time to think."

I agreed with her. She tried flashing me one of her happy smiles, but all I saw was sadness. She went in one direction and I went in the other with KusuKusu sleeping on my shoulder.

_"Always and forever, you and me"_

About an hour after Faith and I split, I got bored so I went to the arena. Utau was at the end of one of her songs.

When the song ended, I stared at her with a bored expression.

Utau fumed slightly at my reaction. "You know I invited you and gave you free food, the least you could do is clap."

I rolled my eyes. "Woo. Go Utau," I said sarcastically.

"Hey, at least I can sing… and I'm not the size of a second-grader!"

I got up from the seat. "At least I didn't fawn over my brother."

"Why you little-"

"Utau! Utau!" a recognizable voice rang out. The two of us stopped butting heads and looked for the source.

"Amu, Yaya, I'm glad you're here. I didn't think I could handle it alone with the munchkin anymore.

I growled. Of course she likes them. Amu and her are pretty close friends and Yaya and her share a "little sister" type friendship.

Amu and Yaya approached me. When they reached my side, I examined both of them. Yaya seemed okay, but Amu… was totally not. She looked like she had a sugar crash.

"What happened?"

"Well Yaya will tell you first that Amu-chi kept her promise. She didn't let Yaya eat or look at any sweets, but Yaya can't say the same for her. When Yaya was going to see one, she instantly popped it into her mouth."

Oh, Amu.

"Utau, time for another song," Yukari announced.

Utau got back in position when the music started. During the middle of her song, three alarmed voices came charging toward us. The music immediately stopped.

Kukai, Tadase and Nagihiko reached us. Kukai and Tadase began flailing their arms around, attempting to tell us something. "Ikuto… egg… woods… trouble!"

The three of us including Utau were confused, "What?"

Nagihiko clarified for us. "Ikuto's in the woods battling a powerful X-egg. We need your help."

Utau signaled to Yukari for permission.

"By the way Rima-chan, where's Faith?"

"She should be somewhere in the festival."

"Okay, good." When that was over, the seven of us and our charas ran over to Ikuto.

When we arrived, Ikuto was already in his chara nari. "Took you guys long enough. This X-egg is getting on my nerves. All it's been saying is 'Useless! Useless! I can't go back! I suck at dancing! I'm giving up!' Blah! Blah!"

I twitched. Dancing? If I didn't know any better this X-egg is…

"This is Faith's X-egg," Nagihiko uttered.

The others looked at him in shock, but I knew he was right. Pretty much everything the X-egg is saying right now, Faith told me earlier.

The others looked up to the X-egg.

"Can you guys, I don't know, stare at the egg after you chara nari!" Ikuto yelled.

We all listened to him and we chara naried. As soon as we transformed, the egg transformed also. It hatched into an X-character.

We had to figure out a plan to restore the egg back to its normal state.

"Amu, say one of your 'life depends on it speech' about not giving up."

We waited for her response. Nothing. We looked to find her on the ground, at our feet. Poor Amu. The sugar was too powerful for her. Yaya and I were going to help her up, but the X-character that was watching shot an attack at us.

All of us, except for Ikuto, left Amu's side to dodge. Ikuto had to pick up Amu bridal style.

When we landed, the X-character released another attack at us. The attacks resembled dancing: beautiful, flowing and graceful, yet wild and hypnotic, what Faith wished her dancing was like.

This egg was definitely Faith's. Other than the dancing references it made, I could tell it was Faith's because... her body was lying motionless not too far from us.

After the two of us separated, she probably thought about her flawed dancing, which caused her heart's egg to become weak and an X-egg.

Poor Faith. My mind was too preoccupied with thinking that I almost got hit by the X-character's attack. I didn't land perfectly after I avoided it; I fell on one knee.

I got up, though, dusted off my tutu and was about to get ready to attack back until a strong blast came my way. It was too fast for me to move away, so I stood there preparing for the worst while the others called my name.

When I was certain I was about to get hit, I closed my eyes and waited for the blow. Nothing came. Instead, I rolled onto the ground next to a tree. When I opened my eyes I saw a friendly face.

"You okay, Rima-chan?"

I slightly blushed. "Y-yeah." He removed his hand from around my waist and we sat up. We watched our friends as they tried to slow and weaken the X-character, but it was no use.

"The others are getting crushed. What should we do?" I sat there watching in silence. When suddenly I came up with an idea. I ran from Nagihiko's side toward our friends. "Rima-chan!"

Our friends were down and weakened by the countless X-character's attacks. When the X-character was about to release a big blow to our friends, I quickly blocked the attack with my juggling party.

The X-character glared at me angrily, but I stood my ground. I clenched my fists and said the things I wanted to tell Faith earlier.

"Don't say you can't do something. Don't say hope abandoned you because in truth, you abandoned it."

There was a short pause as I looked at my friends and Nagihiko.

I continued. "You know there'll always be a time when you can't go on. And when it's getting good, something else goes wrong. But the worst thing you can do is run away from your fears. Just listen to your heart, don't cry, keep holding on and never let it go. No matter what!"

"Yeah! Just cheer up and never give up hope or, in your case, faith." Amu added.

Faith's X-character eased and quit attacking. It might've been just me, but I heard the X-character mutter a "thank you, Rima-chan." I smiled then nodded toward Amu. She replied to me by using her "Open Heart" purification.

While Amu did that, Nagihiko went over to me. "Thanks for doing that for Faith, Rima-chan." He presented a smile and I couldn't help, but blush as our chara naris were undone.

I regained my composure. I turned away from Nagihiko and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah well, it's no big deal."

He chuckled and I blushed yet again. "For being a great friend, you get a reward."

"Oh, please. Like I want something from you."

He smirked and put an arm around me. He gave me a quick hug. Then he bent down to my level and looked me in the eye. He was leaning forward until… Yaya pulled me to the side.

Everyone gathered around me saying "good job" about me calming the egg and "nice speech." When I turned around to look for Nagihiko, I saw him next to Faith. And the hopes I got up, I soon watched fall.

Nagihiko carried Faith over to us on his back. "We need to get Faith back to the arena to lie down."

"Right!" everyone exclaimed, but me.

"I think I'm going to stay here for a little bit," I whispered.

I looked up to see everybody's reaction. All, but one, wasn't suspicious. "Alright, Rima," Amu began, "we'll see you later." They all ran out of the woods.

The wind picked up as soon as everyone left me. The wind blew, making the trees sway back and forth, the leaves rustle and my hair swirl around. I placed my hands on my chest and spoke, to no one, from my heart.

"I'll do anything; I'll give you my world. I'll wait forever," I choked for a second, but regained my voice, "to be your girl. Just call out my name and I will be there, Nagihiko, just to show you how much I care." I stood steady on one foot and rotated 180 degrees with the other. I gazed at the sunset painted sky with wind blowing more now and proclaimed with all my heart, "I was born to make you happy!"

When I finished the wind died down. I heaved a sigh. I began walking back to the concert area, when I heard the sound of crunching leaves. I stiffened, thinking that someone heard me, but when I stood motionless, I no longer heard the sound. It was probably my imagination.

I ran all the way to the concert arena without looking back.

_"That's the way our life should be"_

The lights flashed all around the stage, while Utau was singing her song. I was backstage with the others watching her have fun. I peeked at the audience, they, too, were enjoying themselves. Everyone was happy, well, everyone except me.

Since it was kind of dark where we were standing, nobody could see my pouty expression. And it's all because of…

"Wow! I can't believe I'm backstage at Utau Hoshina's concert!"

"Faith, relax. Don't over exert yourself. You don't want to faint again, do you?"

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Nagihiko holding on to Faith. I sighed softly, turned my head around and stared at the ground.

_Flashback_

"_Rima-tan! Where'd you go? Yaya was-"_

_I rolled my eyes and walked toward Amu. "How's Faith?"_

"_She should be fine. She's in Utau's dressing ro- Rima, where are you going?"_

_I went looking for Utau's dressing. I came upon a door slightly ajar. I peeked inside the room. I saw Faith lying down. In mere seconds Faith's hand start twitching and her eyes fluttered open. Nagihiko got up from his seat and went to Faith._

_He tilted her up slowly. "Faith, are you okay?"_

_She clutched her head. "Yeah, for the most part. I'm just a little dizzy."_

_At that point I was going to walk away, but stopped when Nagihiko gave Faith a hug. I felt like I couldn't breathe. What shattered my heart, though, was what Nagihiko said next. "That's good because I wouldn't know how to live without you. You were born to make me…"_

_I left the door and went running. I held the tears in and made my blunt face as I approached my friends._

_End of flashback_

When I lifted my head, the colorful lights and music seized. A single spotlight shone on Utau. "Thank you! You guys are awesome." The audience erupted into applause. "Now before I end the show tonight, I have one more song. And before I sing it, I would like to dedicate it to a friend."

Backstage, we all looked at each other puzzled. She didn't mention any dedication to a friend during rehearsals.

"I used to not know anything about her, but a few hours earlier I learned we have something in common. We both know that a certain emotion will hurt when it's not what is seems."

Huh? Has Utau lost it? Those lights must be getting to her. Who is this person she's talking about, but more importantly _what_ is she talking about?

"To a friend, this is my wish for you: comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, hope so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth… And lastly love to complete your life. _Never_ give up on someone you can't go a day without because you never know what'll happen."

The crowd, inspired by her short speech, began cheering. While the crowd was busy, Utau took that chance to face our direction. Her eyes traveled on us, then stopped when she caught mine. She winked at me and smiled. Luckily, my friends didn't notice. They were still pondering what Utau was saying.

But, I understood everything. Utau was talking about me. Utau was suspicious when I wanted to stay behind, she must've heard me in the woods and she noticed something after I ran from her dressing room. I returned the smile and she faced forward.

When the people settled down, the music played and Utau sang her last song, "Glorious Sunshine." My friends gave up on figuring out who Utau was talking about and began dancing to Utau's singing.

I, on the other hand, turned to look at Faith and Nagihiko for a brief moment. Then, I looked at the stage at Utau singing her heart out. There was a reason she chose to sing this song last.

I smiled bigger this time knowing Utau's right…

A girl can dream.

To be continued…

* * *

That was so… so… *shudders* I can't even express how bad that was.

Constructive criticism, please.


	7. A Girl Can Dream

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any or its characters. I also do not own _A Girl Can Dream_ by Nina.

_**A Girl Can Dream**_

_Tick tock. Tick tock._

I could hear the sound of the clock at the front of the room repeating its rhythm.

_Tick tock. Tick tock._

That, and KusuKusu laughing next to me.

I rolled my eyes at my chara before folding my arms across my desk and laying my head on top. My mom thought it'd be a good idea for me to come to school early. Was it a good idea? No.

There were a handful of students at school already, but none of them I knew. So, here I am sitting in an empty classroom waiting for any of the guardians or even the teacher to show up. I sighed.

I was about to get lost in thought when I remembered something. Before I left for school, I asked KusuKusu to slip a gag manga in my bag. I faced my chara's direction who was prancing around the classroom doing funny tricks. I giggled slightly before asking. "KusuKusu, you did put one of my gag mangas in here, right?" I lifted the bag off the ground onto the table to search through it.

"Yeah, it should be there. Look Rima, funny face."

I paid no attention to her as I felt what seemed like my gag manga. When I pulled it out though, my smile faded. KusuKusu didn't grab a gag manga. Instead, she grabbed a book my mama used to read to me as a child. It was an old fairy tale book.

"KusuKusu, you got the wrong thing," I complained to my chara. She didn't hear me. She was still posing in a funny face.

I might as well make the best of what I've got. I flipped through the pages of the book. Memories came pouring through my mind. I remembered as a child, the story would say that somebody will sweep me off my feet someday. A smile formed on my face. I hoped that would happen with Nagihiko and me, more than he could know.

I sighed heavily as I continued through the book. In the corner of my eye, I saw KusuKusu leave the classroom, probably because she found me boring. I went on reading the book.

When I finished, I shut the book and slammed it against my desk. I looked up to see the once empty classroom full of talkative and lively students. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see three of the guardians.

"Morning." Amu greeted. We've been waiting for you to finish, Rima." She faced the blond boy next to her. "Tadase-kun, has to tell us something," she spoke dreamily. I rolled my eyes at my pink-haired best friend without her noticing.

"We have some guardian business after school today. We have to help out some students in the elementary school. I already informed Yuiki-san and she agreed. Do you all think you can make it?"

Nagihiko and Amu nodded without any hesitation.

I, on the other hand, thought about it, wondering if I had anything I had to do at home. "There_ is _a brand-new comedy special airing tonight, but it won't start until six, so I'll be there."

I heard a chuckle. "You and your comedy."

My eyes flashed to the person it belonged to. "What's so wrong about that?" I questioned Nagihiko.

He chuckled once again. "Nothing, Rima-chan. Forget I said anything."

That should be easy. By now, Amu and Tadase were off in their own conversation. My eyes wondered around the classroom. They finally rested on my desk a few feet away. I saw the book I just read sitting there. I looked back at Nagihiko, then the book again. This time when I looked at the book, I felt like it was mocking me. It wanted me to tell Nagihiko that my heart was in his hands.

I slightly twitched at the thought. Remind me to never ask KusuKusu to pack me a book.

"Something wrong, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko asked with that smile of his.

I stared at him. Inside I was praying to have the courage to finally tell him what I wanted to say ever since he got back from Europe. I inhaled, then exhaled. "Yeah, I have something to say."

He gave me a gentle look. "What is it?"

Just as I worked up the courage to try, much to my surprise something happened. "Nagihiko, I think I-" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw a pair of hands go around Nagihiko's eyes.

"Guess who?"

Nagihiko smiled. "Good morning, Faith. Can you take your hands off of my eyes now?" Faith removed her hands. Nagihiko turned in her direction and gave her a quick hug. "Where'd you go? We came to school together. You were supposed to be in the classroom-"

Faith interrupted him. "I saw Yaya-chan and she told me to follow her. She gave me candy." Faith revealed the sweet treats. Okay, who gave Yaya sweets in the morning? "She also told me you guys have some guardian business after school. Can I help?"

Nagihiko turned to me. How should I know? "I don't know, Faith. You'd have to ask Hotori-kun." I pointed at Tadase who was still standing and talking to Amu.

"Okay, then. Thanks, Rima-chan." She gave me a short hug before skipping over to ask the king.

I was going to get lost in thought the second time this morning when a hand waved in front of my face. I looked up to see Nagihiko. I realized I stopped my sentence before finishing.

"Care to finish your sentence, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko grinned.

"Uh, well..." I trailed off. "You see I started to-"

Now for the second time that day, I got interrupted. Faith joined us once again. "Good news, I get to help you guys after school. Yay! Tadase-kun told me to ask you what I should do to help. Come on." Faith got a hold of Nagihiko's wrist and yanked him over to Tadase and Amu.

Before they left my side, Nagihiko apologized to me for not letting me finish. I shook my head, although he didn't see it.

I sighed and went to sit down at my desk. Maybe, this is why I haven't told Nagihiko sooner, because he has someone else. I faced the group of four near the back corner before I returned to the front. I think it'd be better this way, to just keep these feelings to myself.

I heaved a sigh, propping my elbow against the desk and placing my chin on the palm on my hand. I sat there quiet, waiting for class to start.

_"Baby, a girl can dream_

I sat at the table in the royal garden bored out of my mind. We were supposed to wait for Kukai to arrive before Tadase was going to give out the duties. I was drinking my tea watching the scene before my eyes.

Tadase and Nagihiko were filling out some paper work to pass the time, Yaya who crashed from her sugar rush had her head on the table and the charas were off playing in the doll house Ami bought them. Amu, however, was giving Faith a brief tour of the elementary school.

I pouted thinking about that. Faith better not steal my best friend. In the mere moments after I thought about that, Faith and Amu walked in, along with an auburn-haired boy.

Amu called out, "We found Kukai!"

Nagihiko and Tadase looked up from their work and Yaya slightly raised her head from the table. Kukai made his way to us, showing off his goofy grin. "Yo!"

I watched as Daichi flew from his side to join the other charas.

"Souma-kun," Tadase spoke. "Since everyone's here I better start by telling all the jobs."

Tadase talked as I twirled strands of my golden hair. I swear I was paying attention.

When Tadase was still speaking, Yaya miraculously regained her energy from the sugar crash, interrupted him and exclaimed, "Everybody should all hang out at Amu-chi's house this weekend!" She stood up from her seat with a fiery look in her eyes.

Amu began to spaz. "What? No, Yaya!"

Of course Amu would feel that way. She doesn't want a repeat of what occurred last time.

"Don't worry, Amu-chi." She lightly slapped Amu in the back. "It'll be just the four of us then: you, Yaya, Rima-tan and Faith-chan."

"Okay, I guess," Amu replied slowly, thinking it was a better idea.

"Actually, it'd only be three. I can't go. I'm busy this weekend," I confessed.

Yaya crossed her arms across her chest and huffed at me. "But Rima-tan-"

Yaya I looked up when we heard someone clear their throat. Yaya immediately sat down, so Tadase could continue and tell us the rest of the information.

"Yuiki-san, had a great idea. Souma-kun, Fujisaki-kun, why don't we do the same at Souma-kun's house?"

And that's how the boys got side-tracked talking about_ their_ plans. Faith was laughing and Amu was scolding Yaya for bringing her idea up in the first place. As for me, I rolled my eyes.

Once I was tired of just sitting, I decided to clear my throat.

The conversations stopped in a flash. I have to do that more often.

Tadase finally assigned the jobs. "Souma-kun and I will be helping the students with the newspaper. Amu-chan, Yuiki-san and Suzuki-san will be organizing the books in the classrooms. Lastly, Fujisaki-kun and Mashiro-san, you will be watering the flowers."

I was full of relief when I got assigned an easy job while Yaya complained about hers.

In a few seconds, our charas hovered by our sides and we all left the royal garden.

All, but Nagihiko and I stayed outside while the others went to do their jobs inside the building. Nagihiko and I went to get watering cans. We filled them up and headed for the flowers.

"To finish quicker, Rima-chan, you take that side and I'll take this side."

I obeyed Nagihiko. I wanted to end this fast, so I could go home and watch the new comedy special.

The time it took to water the plants seemed to go by quickly with KusuKusu next to me doing her famous gags. I laughed at them. And before I knew, I was done watering the plants on my side. I stood up. KusuKusu followed me as I went in search of Nagihiko.

I went around the corner of a building and found Nagihiko finishing up the rest of his side. At the moment, he looked slightly annoyed at something. I realized what it was when my eyes traveled to the side. His charas, Temari and Rhythm, were in an argument.

To me it looked like Temari was at the point of wanting to strangle Rhythm. Let me guess it's Rhythm's fault.

I shook my head disapprovingly at the charas' actions. "KusuKusu, go break it up," I told her.

She flew away from me to the two charas. When the charas saw her, they stopped for a second, but continued arguing. KusuKusu sucked in a big breath and then let out a huge roar, I've only seen her done one other time. That shut the two charas up.

Nagihiko wondered why his charas were quiet all of a sudden, so he turned. He saw KusuKusu and immediately looked for me. His eyes wandered around until he caught sight of me. A smile appeared on his face. He stood up. "All done, Rima-chan?"

I walked toward him and nodded. I pointed at Rhythm and Temari who were now being counseled in therapy by KusuKusu.

"Oh, them? You see Rhythm was messing around with the watering can and accidentally got Temari's kimono wet. Temari got angry and chara changed with me. For a while I was chasing Rhythm around, but then Rhythm decided to chara change with me and chase Temari around. I chara changed with them at least five more times until they gave up chara changing and wanted to battle-it-out face to face."

I knew it was Rhythm's fault.

I giggled. Nagihiko was in disbelief that I was laughing about something like this. I seized my laughter when Nagihiko added, "It's not funny."

So then I smiled.

Nagihiko threw his hands in the air. "I can't believe my would-be selves are a bi-polar Japanese dancer and an impulsive flirt."

At least my would-be self was a happy clown that makes people laugh. I snickered. "It must suck to be you."

"Rima-chan!" Nagihiko shouted. I turned to face him with I noticed his expression changed. He was smirking. "By the way, what were you trying to tell me this morning?"

Damn. I thought he forgot. I began to ponder if I should tell him or not. I rewound to the events this morning, but as I did the book came to my mind.

The main girl character as she slept imagined her being with the boy, not the other girl. They'd be talking, laughing and sharing their dreams. When she woke up though, it was just a fantasy. This situation was similar to me.

I let out a sigh.

"Rima-chan, are you okay?" I felt Nagihiko grab my hand with concern.

I inhaled and then exhaled like this morning. I, again, worked up the courage to try. "This morning, I was saying that I think I-"

"Rima-chan! Nagi! There you guys are!" a recognizable voice yelled. The person it belonged to ran to us. Nagihiko had dropped my hand by now. "We're all done with guardian work today. Want to go home?" she asked cheerfully.

"Sure," Nagihiko and I said in unison.

"Great! I need to get my things. I'll meet you guys in the front." Faith ran off.

Nagihiko and I stood there for a bit. I didn't bother finishing my sentence for the third time that day and Nagihiko didn't pester me to continue my thought. I knew it'd be a good idea for me to keep these feelings to myself because Nagihiko has Faith.

At last, for a long period of silence, we gestured for our charas.

As Temari and Rhythm floated to Nagihiko. They bowed to Nagihiko and apologized for their behavior. He raised his eyebrows in shock. I looked over my shoulder at my giggling chara. KusuKusu's actually a helpful shrink.

We walked over to the front. When we arrived though, Faith was getting into a car. "I guess my mom sent the car." He looked down on me. Curse my vertical height issues. "Do you want a ride, Rima-chan?"

"Nah, it's fine. I'll walk home."

"If you say so. See you Monday." Nagihiko and his charas went in the direction of the car. Before he shut the door, he waved goodbye. I waved back. He closed the door and the car drove off.

I began my journey home with KusuKusu floating by my side.

_"Baby, a girl can dream" _

It was some time after dinner. My dad actually came over and ate dinner with my mom and me. It was great to be a happy family again, if only for tonight. The four of us, including KusuKusu, watched the new comedy special.

My mom and dad laughed occasionally at the gags as I smiled at the time we were spending together.

After the comedy special, my dad explained he was leaving for a business meeting soon and had to hurry home. Before he left, though, he promised he'd come over again for dinner. I not only smiled because of that, but also because my mom said that he could come anytime he wanted.

Although I do wish my parents were still together, I'm glad they get along better when they're divorced. I guess not seeing the other everyday, didn't give them a reason to argue tonight. The arguing is what drove them apart in the first place.

I shook away those thoughts.

Now I was sitting in my room, lying on my bed, cuddling onto my pig pillow. I was thinking about the plans I would've had tomorrow if I wasn't busy. I would be with Amu, Yaya and Faith at Amu's house. Instead, though, tomorrow I will be going to the mall with KusuKusu to buy new gag manga.

I rolled onto my side and got my bag which was on the floor of one of the sides of my bed. I stuck my hand in and pulled out the item I desired. The fairy tale book.

I opened the book to the middle page and reread the words from this morning. I flipped to the next page and so on. I stopped reading after I read three more pages. I shut the book and laid it next to me.

The part I just reread was where the main girl thought she'd never get to be with the one she loved. I sighed and sat up on my bed with my legs hanging on the side.

It was like me and Nagihiko. I may never get to hold him so tight, I may never get to kiss him goodnight or I may never get to look deep in his eyes probably like Faith does.

At least, that's what it seems like for now.

I hopped off my bed and went over to my window. KusuKusu joined and helped me lift the pane up. I looked up to the sky and gazed at the stars.

I always will be wishing he was mine. I think about what could be all the time and all the happiness I will find because…

A girl can dream.

I smiled remembering Utau telling me that during her concert a few weeks ago. It's true that a girl can dream. And to call Nagihiko my own… it'll be the sweetest dream I know.

"Rima, look a shooting star!" KusuKusu exclaimed.

I scanned around the night sky for it. When I saw it, I smiled again. Then, when it was out of sight, I retreated inside and closed the window.

I went back to my bed and laid down ready to go to sleep and dream.

_"Baby, a girl can dream" _

"Ready to go, KusuKusu?" I asked my chara.

She hovered up to me. "Rima, can we buy more gag manga, please?" She pointed over to a pile where she collected a couple more volumes of manga. Then, she made her funny face to try to make me crack.

I stifled the laugh. "Sorry, KusuKusu. We already got all the gag manga I could buy." I showed her the bag I was holding. She didn't give in. She sat on top of the pile and pouted.

Sometimes, I regret having a chara like her. I tried to think of a way to get her to leave. An idea popped into my head.

"Fine, you can stay. While you're just sitting here, though, I'll be at home reading the new gag manga."

She got up from the mound of books. "You win this time. Bring more money next time." She flew ahead of me.

I rolled my eyes at her. KusuKusu can be a handful sometimes.

I walked out of the bookstore. As I was about to exit the mall, I saw that it was pouring hard. And that's why I wanted to leave sooner.

"Ah, Rima it's raining!" she wailed.

No kidding. "Here go into your egg." I got her egg out of my pocket and she slipped in. I placed the egg back into my pocket.

Before I headed out, to keep the manga from getting wet, I tucked the bag under my jacket. I stepped out of the mall and hurried on my way home.

As I was running, I had to be careful not to slip. More raindrops kept falling. And to add to that, it was falling faster and faster.

If I get sick, I'm so blaming KusuKusu.

I was finally approaching the crosswalk. A few more blocks and I'll be home. I stood at the end of the crosswalk waiting for the walk signal to show up.

I zoned out for a couple of seconds, but when I was snapped back into reality, I saw the green walk sign. I stood at the end, about to move when in the distance I saw a person with purple hair coming in my direction.

Now, how many people do I know that have purple hair?

I was about to call out his name when all of a sudden, a car came sliding down the street colliding with Nagihiko. My eyes widened in shock.

"Shit," I cursed.

I ran to the middle of the sidewalk where Nagihiko was lying on the ground. The car that hit him came to a stop and the person got out.

"Oh, my!" she yelled horrified. The woman ran to me. She shot out questions. "Is he a friend of yours? Is he alright?"

I slightly twitched. Does he look alright? "Y-yeah, he's a friend of mine. What happened?"

"The rain made the road slippery and made the car travel faster than normal for me. I tried breaking in time before I hit your friend, but it was too late. I better call an ambulance. You keep an eye on him?"

I nodded and she went back to her car. I went over to Nagihiko who was lying motionless on the ground. I peered at his face.

With one of my hands, I took one of his and brought it to my face. With my other hand I caressed his cheek.

Even though it was raining, I could still feel the tears falling from my eyes.

I was still caressing his cheek. "Nagihiko, I love you not because of who you are, well that, but also because of who I am when I am with you. I'm the way I am… because you live."

I gazed down at him again.

Nagihiko…

Don't leave me.

To be continued…

* * *

Wow. The ending was so… *Face-palm*

Sorry if the chapter seemed rushed. It was meant to be a filler.

Constructive criticism, please.


	8. Because You Live

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _Because You Live_ by Jesse McCartney.

_**Because You Live**_

"Ahh! Nagihiko, I can't stand this! My kimono's getting all wet."

"Yeah, Nagi, this isn't cool. We have to hurry!"

I looked up at my charas through the pouring rain and frowned. I remembered I had to do an errand before going home. "Sorry guys, but I have to stop by the store." Their spirits sagged as the three of us were standing in the rain. That's when I had an idea. "You two can go on ahead if you wa-"

"Alright thanks, Nagi. We'll see you at home." Rhythm and Temari waved goodbye before flying in the direction of the house.

When they were no longer in sight, I lifted my jacket over my head and started running as fast as I could to get out of the rain.

I at last made it to the crosswalk. Once I cross, I'll be mere blocks away from the store then after, I can head home and get out of this weather.

**Staring out at the rain with a heavy heart  
It's the end of the world in my mind**

I waited for the green walk sign to light up. When it did, I began to run across. I glimpsed up a second to see locks of golden hair. Rima?

By the look on her face, she was spacing out. I was about to call her name, but at that moment, she lifted up her head. Her eyes widened in shock.

I didn't know what she was stunned at, that is, until I slightly turned to the left to see a pair of headlights coming at me.

I panicked at that moment, resulting in me not moving. The car did its best to swerve, but it ended up skidding into me, hauling me off the ground.

I landed with a hard thud. My body was tingling and my head was aching. I stared at the rain falling around me. My eyes were opening and closing slowly.

But then, they finally stopped and I became engulfed in darkness. Before I lost consciousness, I knew that this was going to be the end of my world…

**Then your voice pulls me back like a wake up call  
I've been looking for the answer, somewhere**

**I couldn't see that it was right there  
But now I know what I didn't know**

"Nagihiko. Nagihiko. Nagihiko, you can make it! Don't give up."

My mind returned and I regained consciousness. My eyes opened to the scene in front of me. I was lying on a moving bed. I twisted my head faintly to see where I was.

A hospital.

I saw three unfamiliar faces by my side, gliding the bed I was on. None of them seemed to notice I was awake. I watched as one doctor examined a clipboard in his hands. He turned to someone behind him.

Whoever it was, said my name. Their voice had pulled me back like a wake up call. And whoever this person was, has really petite hands compared to me.

One of my hands was on my chest with a little hand wrapped around it. I listened to the doctor's conversation to the person holding my hand.

"Are you sure he's going to make it?" the doctor questioned.

"I'm known him for a long time and I'm sure he will."

"Alright, we'll take him into surgery. He has some broken bones. When we enter the emergency room, however, I'm sorry Mashiro-san, but you'll have to stay in the waiting room."

"Okay. For now though, I want to stay by his side."

"Very well."

Their conversation ended. I replayed what the doctor had called the person. Mashiro-san? The doctor moved forward a bit revealing the tiny person.

Her once flowing hair of sunshine had turned into a frizzy mess due to the rain.

I watched as she faced forward with a determined expression.

I smiled at her even though she didn't see.

I've been wondering something for awhile now, struggling to find the answer. I can't believe I didn't see it was right there.

At least, now, I'm positive I know what the answer is. I smiled one more time while softly encasing my hand around Rima's.

Afterward, I closed my eyes again.

**Because you live and breathe  
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help  
Because you live, girl  
My world has twice as many stars in the sky**

I came to once more. I opened my eyes to take a peek at my environment. I was in a hospital room. I was going to sit myself up, but was interrupted by the doctor with the clipboard in his hands.

"Fujisaki-san?"

"That's me," I responded.

He reviewed his clipboard before speaking, "Well, if you haven't noticed, you've been put into a few casts. Your x-ray showed some broken bones, but they aren't that severe. Just make sure you stay off of them for a while."

Before he left, I asked him a question. "What happened to the blonde girl that was with me?"

"Oh, Mashiro-san? She's sleeping right there." The doctor pointed to the girl on her knees sleeping on the side of my bed. "I think she already informed your family about the news. You should ask her to make sure. Is that all?"

I nodded my head and he vanished out of the room. I observed Rima as she peacefully slept half on the ground and half on the bed. I chuckled to myself before deciding to wake up the sleeping beauty.

I shook her gently at first. When she didn't move, I shook her harder. "Rima-chan, wake up."

She finally did after some time. Her head sprang up from the bed, her arms were raised above her head and she muttered, "Nagihiko, I-" She stopped the sentence as her eyes opened.

"Yes, Rima-chan?" I grinned, waiting to hear the rest.

She threw her hands down on the bed in anger. "Nothing."

"Alright, if you say so," I chuckled.

"I wouldn't be talking if you don't want more broken bones," she pouted. I rolled my eyes at her. That's when she stood up from her knees and studied me closely. Her fuming façade faded into a gentle one. "Are you okay now, Nagihiko?"

I smiled knowing that deep down inside, past her hatred for me, there was a spot that cared.

"I'm fine now, Rima-chan." She smiled at me. "By the way, the doctor told me you phoned my house. Is that right?"

"Yeah, your housekeeper, Baaya answered. When I told her what happened, she began freaking out, so I had to tell everything to Faith. I tried alerting the others, but none of them picked up, so I left a message."

I was going to smile again, but when Rima backed up from the bed and I could see her whole figure, I frowned in its place. "Rima-chan, you're still wearing your wet clothes. You're going to get sick."

As if on cue, Rima sneezed, making KusuKusu's egg fall out of her pocket. Before it hit the ground, though, KusuKusu hatched.

She stretched, yawned then giggled. "Where are we Rima?" She noticed me in the bed. "Nagi, what happened?"

I answered her question as Rima had a sneezing attack in the corner.

She expressed an apology before flying back to Rima who was now coughing. She promptly looked up and shot me a death glare. I told her she was going to get sick.

"Rima-chan, what time is it?"

She seized her phone from her jacket pocket. "A little after two in the morning. I better call my mom to take me home. Are you going to be fine if I leave, Nagihiko?" She sneezed after her question.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. Just get home and change out of those clothes."

She nodded. She snatched a bag next to the bedside table and was about to walk out the door. She stopped and rotated her body to face me. "They say you can go home in the morning, but for know just rest, okay?" A smile made its way onto her face.

She almost exited, but I halted her before she did. "Rima-chan… Thank you."

Her smile didn't weaken. With that being said though, she was gone.

Now alone in the room I turned to the window and saw not rain, but a pure and clear night sky.

It's probably just me, but as I stared out at the sky, there seemed to be twice as many stars.

I smiled one last time before drifting off to sleep.

**It's alright, I survived, I'm alive again  
'Cause of you, made it through every storm**

"Aw, poor Nagi!" Yaya cried.

"Nagihiko, does it still hurt?" Amu questioned.

"Fujisaki-kun, is there anything you want? I could go get it," Tadase stated.

Kukai whistled. "Looks like the basketball captain's gonna be on the bench for a while. Do you need any help with the team?"

I shook my head at my friends. "Really everybody, I'm alright. I survived the accident." And I feel more alive than I ever was because of one person.

"Achoo!" a minuscule sneeze was heard followed by sniffling.

"Still got that cold, Rima?" Amu asked the blonde next to her.

"Yeah," another sneeze ensued. This time the sneeze made her jump up from her seat. "I'll be fine." She let out a cough.

I wondered why she came to the meeting if she wasn't feeling well. But as I examined myself, I knew why. If I could come to the meeting with a few broken bones, then she could come with her sickness.

I felt bad that she had to stay with me in the hospital in her wet clothes. However, I'm really thankful she held out through the storm to help me. Whether it'd be rain, sleet or snow, she'd be there.

**What is life, what's the use if you're killing time  
I'm so glad I found an angel, someone**

**Who was there when all my hopes fell  
I wanna fly, looking in your eyes**

I sighed, observing Kukai and Yaya devour the snacks on the table. The other three were ignoring them.

What is life? What's the point of it? Stuff your face full of food? Waste the day by sleeping? Stay at home all your life without experiencing adventure? Do what you're told?

That's what I thought a long time ago. In those instances, all you're doing is killing time. What would life's use be?

I'm glad though, through my confusing time, I found an angel. Someone who told me to give it everything I got and live like there's no tomorrow.

I gazed across the table at my angel. Despite her angelic form, inside, she is quite demonic. Luckily, she knows when to take advantage of her appearance and actually be soft-hearted and good-natured.

Not to mention always be there for me. Especially, when all my hopes fell. I smiled at her.

She caught me staring at her. She scowled. Through her sniffles, she managed to say in an annoyed tone, "What are you looking at cross-dresser?"

I chuckled to myself. Her demon side was kicking in. I still smiled, nonetheless and answered.

"Nothing, Rima-chan. Nothing."

She glared at me for some time, but pushed it aside when Tadase made an announcement. "Since Tsukasa-san just called me into his office, you guys can take a break. When I get back, we'll get into the matters of the strange increase in X-eggs."

We approved of his idea. He got up from his seat and headed for the exit, Kiseki trailing him.

Once he left, the three girls began talking about something and Kukai went to check on the charas.

I sat patiently. I couldn't really go anywhere if I wanted to.

So instead, I took quick glances at Rima. Even when she's sick, her smile and laugh are as lively as ever and her honey eyes twinkle with that same genuine innocence and warmth.

I smiled thinking of wanting to fly, looking into those eyes.

I slumped in my chair waiting for the meeting to begin again.

**Because you live and breathe  
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help  
Because you live, girl  
My world has twice as many stars in the sky  
Because you live, I live**

As soon as Tadase returned from his uncle's office, he commenced the meeting. "Like I said earlier, there has been an odd increase in X-egg activity lately. We should get to the bottom of it."

Everyone agreed. Tadase continued talking about the X-eggs while I, for the first time, tuned him out. I'll find out everything later.

I couldn't really concentrate with my injuries. Bad excuse, I know.

The accident made me realize something important and it revolves around the Queen diagonally from me.

That night at the hospital when there were twice as many stars in the sky, it was because Rima lives and breathes, it's because she made me believe in myself when nobody else could help.

In short, because Rima lives, I live. I know it might sound cheesy, but it's true. If not for Rima, I probably wouldn't be here right now.

"…In conclusion, if you're in the middle of an X-egg battle, alert the others as soon as possible. Hopefully, you won't be involved for a bit, Fujisaki-kun."

When I heard my name being said, I tuned back into the conversation. I turned toward Tadase. "Yeah, Hotori-kun."

"I guess that ends the meeting for today. We can head home, relax and pray for no X-eggs to show up."

Everyone rose from the table. "You got that right, Hotori-kun." Kukai went over to Tadase and slapped him on the back.

He winced. All the girls giggled for a brief moment.

Yaya was the first to stop. She placed her hands on her head and sighed. "Yaya wishes she could relax, but Yaya has to baby-sit Tsubasa tonight. Yaya's parents are going out again."

The pink-haired girl next to her comforted her. "Don't worry, Yaya. Before you know it, Tsubasa will grow older and you won't have to watch over him. Especially since you're showering him with lots of love and care."

Yaya perked up. "You're right, Amu-chi! Yaya will go home now, so Tsubasa will grow faster with the love and care Yaya gives him."

The pig-tailed, sugar loving girl grabbed her bag and skipped out of the royal garden, her babyish chara next to her.

The five of us sighed. Yaya misunderstood Amu.

That's when a horrified expression made its way on Amu's face. "What kind of love and care do you think Yaya will give him?"

Since we're talking about Yaya, let's see, she'll probably give him things she loves, which means… Sugar, sugar and more sugar! Tsubasa is going to be as hyper as his sister.

Everybody now realizing what Amu meant put on the same ghastly face. Amu laughed nervously, "Well, the meeting's over, so I'm just going to go home and…"

"You're going to check on Yaya," Rima bluntly affirmed.

"Yup." Amu snatched her bag and ran out the royal garden.

"Amu-chan, wait for us," Ran cried as she, Miki, Su and Dia chased after her.

With all that excitement gone, I stood up from my chair. Tadase and Kukai swiftly went to my side.

"I told you guys, I don't need any help. I can make it to the front by myself."

"Alright, Fujisaki-kun. I'll see you tomorrow. Get better soon." Tadase collected his belongings and exited the dome structure, Kiseki in pursuit.

"I might as well get going too. Kaidou insists that since I lost rock-paper-scissors, I have to go pick up their things." Kukai walked down the stairs, but paused at the bottom, turned around and gave his signature grin, "See ya later Jack, Queen."

Kukai left with Daichi, leaving the door ajar. I sat there thinking if this was another set up, everyone leaving Rima and I here alone. Technically we wouldn't be alone; we have our charas with us.

Temari and Rhythm flew to my side and KusuKusu went to Rima, giggling all the way. Rima let out a cough and several sniffles as she looked up from her orange phone. I flashed a grin.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're full of those creepy smiles today. You better stop, it's irritating me."

I chuckled. "Why haven't you gone home yet, Rima-chan? Is it because you wanted to stay with me?"

She twitched viciously. Not a good sign. I saw Rhythm acting nonchalant in the corner of my eye. He's rubbing off on me.

"No, the meeting ended earlier than I thought, so I have to wait for my mom to pick me up." After she finished her explanation, she mumbled incoherent words.

I understood the words "purple-head," "die," and "cliff," which if you combine in a sentence, isn't good. When she's sick, don't put her in a more pissed off mood.

I decided not to say anything else to provoke and get her sicker. Instead, I used my phone to call for a ride. I obviously couldn't walk home.

After that, there was silence, except for my whistling.

Another few minutes passed and my phone beeped, signaling my ride was here. "My ride's here." I tried my best to get out of the chair. "See you tomorrow, Rima-chan." I struggled going down the steps.

"Do you need help?" she examined my efforts.

"Nah, I'm fi-"

I wasn't focused on my step, so my left foot tangled with my right, making me lose my balance. If I fell, I would land on my sprained left arm, which would mean another trip to the hospital. Closing my eyes, I groaned as I awaited the impact of the ground.

When I was positive I didn't hit the ground but something else, I opened my eyes. I rotated my head in every direction, trying to figure out why I didn't fall. As I gazed below, I saw Rima using all her strength to hold me up. I could tell if I didn't get up, I would crush her.

I got back on my feet and remained balanced. Rima placed her hands on her knees and began breathing heavily.

"Thanks, Rima-chan." She raised her head to give me a tiny smile. Rhythm and Temari hovered in my sight, motioning me to ask for help, because let's face it; I can't make it to the front without falling again. "Hey, Rima-chan, do you mind walking me to the front?"

She got up from her knees, done with panting, but before answering my question she checked her phone. "Yeah, my mom just got here. She's in the front also."

Rima walked over to my side. I bent down a little to get to her height. I laughed a little inside. She placed one of my arms around her shoulders and she placed her arm around my waist. We began walking to the front with our charas behind us.

It was silent until Rima broke it with one of her comments. "You're really heavy. Ever thought about losing weight?"

I smirked when a comeback came into my head. "You're really short. Ever thought about growing?"

Rima huffed and turned her head away from me.

Fearing that Rima would drop me because of that, I apologized. "Sorry, Rima-chan."

She faced my direction. There was still a mad look on her. I chuckled nervously.

After a few more minutes we reached the front of the school, where my driver and Rima's mom were waiting. Rima carefully handed me over to my driver before going to her mom's car. I grinned and thanked her.

She waved and returned the smile before entering the car with KusuKusu. Temari and Rhythm came by my side with a content expression on their faces.

Once I was buckled in the car, the driver started our journey home. For a reason, the whole ride, I just couldn't stop smiling.

**Because you live there's a reason why  
I carry on when I lose the fight  
I want to give what you've given me always**

I was reading a book peacefully in my room until, Rhythm and Temari barged in with alarm.

I sighed and put the book down. "What's wrong this time?"

Temari giggled lightly. "You see, Nagihiko," she paused and went behind Rhythm.

"Temari, that's not cool. I thought we settled that you'd tell him." He face-palmed.

"Tell me what?" I asked suspiciously.

Rhythm came closer to me, stopping a couple inches away from my face. "Well you know today how Tadase said to pray there would be no X-egg attacks for awhile, it turns out that nobody did."

"Why's that?"

"Because there's an attack in the park!"

My jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Temari confirmed. "What should we-"

Before I let her end her sentence, I sprang out of bed. I slowly made my way to my door. As soon as I was about to open it, Temari and Rhythm halted me.

"Nagi, you're going out like this?"

"Don't worry about me."

Rhythm slapped his head. "Nagi, this is the first and last time, hopefully, I'll be telling you this, but don't go with the flow!"

Temari calmed him down. "Let him go. He's got heart for doing so."

My charas finally agreed and watched me as I went to the front door, avoiding the maids, Baaya and...

"Nagi, what are you doing out of bed!"

Faith…

I quickly shushed her. "Faith, listen, cover for me until I get back."

"Are you crazy? I'm not letting you go out like that. Besides, it's night time. What could you possibly be doing?"

"Trust me; I know what I'm doing. Just stay in my room and don't let anyone come in until I sneak back in. Please, Faith?" She listened long and hard to what's been said. She pondered before replying.

"Fine, but you owe me Nagi. You know my requirements, I'm sure."

I slightly grunted at the requirements she was talking about. "Okay, but you have to stay in my room. Got that?"

"I promise. Have fun with whatever you're doing." She smiled.

"Thank you, Faith." I gave her an embrace and exited the front door and gate. "Now, which direction?" I questioned my charas.

Temari pointed to the right while Rhythm pointed to the left. They re-thought about it, but this time, Rhythm pointed to the right and Temari to the left.

I face-palmed and sighed. "I guess we'll-"

"Nagi, right there!" I stared up ahead to see the dark auras of the X-egg energy.

I made my way there, ignoring the pain. When I reached the park, I understood I wasn't the only one there.

"Juggling party!" Numerous bowling pins appeared, trying to gather the X-eggs together.

"Rima-chan!" I shouted. She turned around to see me, a pissed off look developing on her face.

"What are you doing here? You should be at home. You could get-"

No matter how much pain it would cause me, I ran over to Rima and saved her from the attack. In truth, it would've caused me more pain to see her get hurt.

We lifted our heads to see the X-eggs circling around us. In a second, I felt a hit on my head. "Nagihiko, you're crazy coming out here. Go back home." She coughed after helping me up.

"No, I'm never leaving you again. I'm staying," I proclaimed with determination. Rima stared at me for a couple of seconds, then finally approved. I smiled and shouted, "Rhythm, chara nari!"

I chara naried with Rhythm. Rima and I traveled to the middle of the X-eggs, using our different attacks to try and weaken them. Unfortunately, they weren't useful.

We were back to back with each other, the X-eggs surrounding us. That's when the X-egg began yelling their problems, their uselessness, how they can't accomplish anything. Rima was about to speak up, but was interrupted. All the X-eggs released their dark energy toward us; and since we were in the middle of it, there was no escape.

The X-egg energy reached and struck us. Rima and I let out screams and dropped down to our knees. The X-eggs ceased their blow and observed as we suffered.

Through the ache and her illness, Rima managed to say, "We have to call the others for help." She scrambled for her phone. When she found it though, I knocked it out of her hand. "Purple-head, what was that for! Do you want to get hurt by more than just the X-eggs?" A sneeze escaped her mouth.

"You're just going to give up and call the others like that. That's not the Rima-chan, I know. She wouldn't succumb to that."

Rima's expression hardened. "What are you talking about?"

"The Rima-chan I know, wouldn't give up. She'd carry on even if she's losing the fight." I stood and helped Rima up.

"So, Nagihiko, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'm going to give you what you've given me always: To never give up even when the going gets tough."

"But, Hotori-kun told us at the meeting to alert the others-"

"I know Hotori-kun told us that, but I know we can do this together." I eased. "Remember the last time we fought off this many X-eggs?" She shook her head slowly, until I shouted for Temari.

She gazed at me with a smile, realizing now what I was thinking.

Rhythm switched out with Temari. In an instant I was no longer Beat Jumper, but Yamato Mai Hime. I gracefully floated down. A fan appeared in my hands and I calmed the X-eggs using dance of the cherry blossoms.

With them at ease, I faced Rima. "Ready, Rima-chan?" I asked in my high-pitched voice.

She nodded her head.

**Because you live and breathe  
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help  
Because you live, girl  
My world has twice as many stars in the sky**

I extended my hand out to her, which she took. A breeze developed, blowing sparks around us. Rima followed my rhythm as we twirled and danced in a waltz.

Next, I chimed, "Charming!"

Rima added, "Beautiful!"

And we simultaneously exclaimed, "Queen's waltz!"

A shower of pink and white light surrounded us, rising to the sky and purifying the X-eggs.

With the X-eggs purified, they all dashed to their owners, in hopes that they'll keep persevering for their dream.

Rima and I dropped hands, undid our chara naris and smiled at each other.

Suddenly, we heard voices bellowing at us.

**Because you live and breathe  
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help  
Because you live, girl  
My world has everything I need to survive**

"Fujisaki-kun! Mashiro-san! I thought at the meeting I told you to inform us of any X-egg activity." We looked at Tadase sensing some resentment. "But since you two purified them, I guess that's all that matters."

"No problem," Rima said dully.

I grinned as Amu and Tadase went to her.

It soon faded when laughing could be heard. I turned around to see Yaya and Kukai snickering. Let me guess, they saw me as Nadeshiko.

"Fujisaki-kun, I knew you couldn't resist wearing skirts again," Kukai said through laughs.

"Yaya thought Nagi looked pretty!" Yaya included.

By now, Tadase and Amu's attention from Rima were drawn to me. Tadase being the polite one tried holding in his laughter. Amu, on the other hand, grew excited.

In my normal voice, I spoke, "Guys, relax. Whether it's Nadeshiko or me, we're still the same."

"Hey, Nagihiko, could you say something using your Nadeshiko voice?"

The three burst out laughing at Amu's request. I bet everybody's enjoying this.

"Amu-chan," I sighed.

She used her sparkle attack when I didn't cooperate.

I groaned. I cleared my throat and spoke in my Nadeshiko voice. "Amu-chan, Hotori-kun, Yaya-chan, Souma-kun, I'm going to get you all back later."

They just laughed. I rolled my eyes; seeing as my threat didn't work.

I twisted to my right to see Rima a few feet away, bored. I breathed in and walked over. With our friends still laughing about 'Nadeshiko,' they won't notice this.

When I reached her, I bent down and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Rima-chan."

She sneezed. Not the best time for her sniffles to appear. I backed away from her.

"What are you thanking me for? You're the one who thought of using queen's waltz."

"Yeah, but this was an overdue hug for helping me find the answer to my question."

She raised her eyes suspiciously, but let it go and smiled.

I smiled back, but in the process, I collapsed on my knees. I was feeling the pain now. Our friends ended their laughter and came over to me.

"We better get him home."

**Because you live, I live, I live**

"I appreciate you all for taking the young master home. Goodnight."

While Baaya was thanking my friends, I sat in my room waiting for her to lecture me.

"Young master, honestly, what were you doing out and about at night? Not to mention with your injuries! You're lucky I'm not telling your mom about this."

"I'm sorry, Baaya."

She presented a reassuring smile. "It's alright. Just don't do it again." She walked out of my sight.

I slumped in bed.

"Hey, Nagi, you're back!" I sat up searching for the source. "I'm sorry, I couldn't cover for you. There's a huge difference in our hair colors."

"It's okay, Faith. Thanks for trying and don't worry, I still owe you."

She squealed. "Yay!" She eventually stopped and sat partly on my bed. "I don't want to pry too much, but I hoped you accomplished what you had to do." She got up from the bed, but sat down again. "Actually, do you mind answering this one question I have?" I signaled for her to continue. "Did anything new or exciting happen? You don't have to answer what out loud, I just want to know."

"It's fine, Faith. I'll tell you something exciting happened, but it was a couple of days ago actually. I found the answer to my question."

"That's good. See you later, Nagi. Night!" She left my room.

Rhythm and Temari drifted toward me. "Nagihiko, what's this question you mentioned to Rima earlier?"

I grinned at them, then thought about Rima. Rima, because you live, my world has everything I need to survive.

"Well, first, the answer is because of her strong and gentle spirit, her perseverance and courage, her petite, beautiful appearance, her smile and laugh, her-"

"Nagi, what about the question?"

"The question? That's right. The things I listed above and more are the reasons why…" I trailed. "They're the reasons why Rima has stolen my heart."

Temari and Rhythm turned to each other, at me, then at one another again. Although the second time, they were smiling.

They went into their eggs, then I laid them on a table.

I grabbed the book I was reading earlier, but after a sentence I couldn't concentrate.

All I could think about was the fact that I live because of Rima, that she was born to make me happy, and that she has stolen my heart.

To be continued…

* * *

Aww, isn't Nagi so sweet? ;)

Happy Holidays!

This chapter wasn't the way I originally planned, so sorry if it sucks.

Constructive criticism, please, because of the reason above and because I fail writing in Nagi's POV. DX


	9. Stolen

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _Stolen_ by Dashboard Confessionals.

_**Stolen**_

"And…" Faith began, lifting her right arm and bending it into an angle, her foot gliding across the floor. "Done!" she ended, raising the floral patterned fan in her hand to conceal her face. She remained in the position for a few moments, and then broke free. "How was that?"

Silence filled the dance room as my mom and Baaya were thinking of how to rate Faith's performance.

Temari flew to my ear and whispered, "She's gotten better."

My chara's right. In the past seasons Faith's been here, her dancing has steadily improved. Especially, considering, her first day of dance practice, she ran out crying and wanted to give up.

"Nagi, when can we leave? I'm a sports chara; I don't want to be watching dance all day. I need action!"

Temari was going to shush him for being rude, but something gray and moving caught her attention. Her quiet and lady-like manner transformed into an aggressive and fierce-tempered one.

She raised a kimono sleeve and her purple eyes became two expanded diamonds. "You filthy rat! How dare you sully the name of the Fujisaki Family during a performance!"

Rhythm and I jumped. Temari threatened the rat some more before chasing it. The door of the dance room slid open, thus the war between Temari and the rat was on.

Rhythm and I exchanged glances then to the door. He shrugged. "Not really the action I wanted, but it'll have to do." Rhythm drifted away. "Yo, Temari, Rat, wait for me."

With both my charas gone and glad Temari didn't chara change with me, I released a sigh of relief.

"Everything okay, Nagi? You seem tense." My mother and Baaya observed me.

I sweat-dropped when I felt the stares of the three people. I don't know what's worse: Those three stares combined or Rima's death glares.

I sweat-dropped again as I saw, in the corner of my eye, Rhythm holding Temari back from the rat. "No need to worry. I'm fine," I chuckled nervously.

"Alright, then. So… How was the dance?" Faith asked, completely dropping the previous subject.

"You danced beautifully, Faith-san," Baaya admitted.

All heads rotated toward my mother. She wore a calm expression on her face. She lifted her hands and clapped them gently. "The quality of your dancing has truly improved significantly."

Faith let out the breath she was holding. She bowed slightly and smiled. "Thank you, Baaya, Fujisaki-san. Now all I wonder about is that dance contest Nagi and I were in. They were supposed to send a letter telling us if we got the scholarships for the boarding school or not."

I stiffened.

"That's right. Thank you for reminding me. The contest was several months ago. We should've received it by now. Baaya, could you go check the mail?"

"Right away, Madam." Baaya bowed and got up to leave. When she reached the door, however, she paused. "Didn't we shut the door?"

I remained quiet.

Faith shrugged. "I didn't see anyone come in or leave while I was dancing."

"Ah, well, it's probably nothing. I'm off to check the mail."

With Baaya gone, it was the three of us. "Faith-san, why don't we phone your parents? The letter could've been sent to your house instead."

Faith removed the kimono she was wearing to reveal her normal clothes underneath. "Okay, I'll go-"

"No!" I cut her short. My mom and Faith turned to me for an explanation. "I mean…" I had to think of a reason quickly. "I mean, they're probably still sleeping with the time difference."

Faith placed a finger on her chin. "That's right. With the time here, it should be dawn there."

I exhaled in relief that my excuse was valid.

"Yeah, so since we're done with dance practice for today, Faith and I are going to get ready for tonight. Excuse us, Mother."

I gripped Faith's wrist and yanked her out of the room before my mom could object.

When we were in the safety of the hallway, I let go of her wrist.

Faith raised an eyebrow. "You were in a rush to get out of there. Too much dancing for one day?"

"Huh? Yeah, I suppose." I changed the topic. "We better get ready. My friends will be here soon. I promised them a cake."

"_Our_ friends," she corrected. "And how can you think of cake at a time like this? With the graduation ceremony only a couple days away, we need to find out if we got accepted or not. If not, then I'll be attending high school here for the next few years." She ended with resentment in her eyes.

"Faith, would it really matter if we got accepted or not?."

Her expression softened. "I guess, not really. I love Japan, but… I really want to know! Don't you?"

When we arrived at the kitchen, I didn't bother responding.

I sighed to myself. It's because I already know the answer.

"_You have stolen my heart"_

"Fujisaki-kun, we always have a hard time finding your house," Kukai stated.

"It's not a house, it's a mansion. A huge mansion! How _hard_ is that to miss? And I'm short! That should say something," Rima retorted.

Everyone laughed at the short blonde's response, especially Kukai.

"You got that right, Mashiro." He slapped the Queen on the back hard enough to make her fall on her knees.

She sent a death glare to the boy who stepped back as a result. The others were still laughing, but I wasn't. Rima was picking herself up, but she stopped when I extended my hand out to her.

"Need help, Rima-chan?"

She presented a tiny smile before sticking her hand out. "Yeah. Thanks, Nagi."

By the time she was standing again, everybody had ceased their laughter, it being replaced with amusement.

Rima and I noticed and watched our friends' reactions. Tadase and Kukai were grinning while Amu and Yaya were giggling and whispering to themselves. Rima and I rolled our eyes.

"Amu-chi, don't you think so too?"

Amu nodded her head and smiled at us.

"What are you talking about, Amu, Yaya?" Rima asked, slightly irritated.

Yaya jumped into her usual hyper self. "That you two would make a cute couple!" Kukai and Tadase's grins widen and Amu's giggling got louder.

Rima and I, on the other hand, turned our heads away from each other. Before she did though, I saw a slight blush in her cheeks. I wonder…

Yaya interrupted my thought by walking up to us. She stared at me right in the eye and then to Rima. Rima rolled her eyes. "When did you start calling him 'Nagi,' Rima? Why no insults?"

"Because that's his name, isn't it?" Rima's face grew with aggravation.

"Okay, Yaya will believe that. But then… Why are you two still holding hands?"

Rima and I quickly looked down at our intertwined hands, which was from me helping her up. She jerked her hand away from mine and crossed her arms over his chest. "You guys set us up," Rima pouted.

Kukai, Tadase, Yaya and Amu were full on smiling. Even the charas that had silently left us earlier, returned to watch our expense.

While our friends commented on our ordeal, Rima turned her back on me. I sighed, thinking if I don't tell her soon; I may never be able to tell her.

When I was going to tap her shoulder, our friends ceased their laughter. They apologized for their behavior and the charas had left us again, Temari and Rhythm in the lead.

"We're sorry, Rima, Nagihiko," Amu apologized again.

"Yeah, Yaya thought it was true, though. Especially, since Rima-tan's been a bit nicer to Nagi since his broken bones. But sadly, we all know that Nagi has Fai-pfft… Rima-tan, what was that for?"

Rima had gone to Yaya's side and covered her mouth with her hands. The three behind them were sweat-dropping at whatever Yaya was going to say.

"I have _who_?" I questioned.

The five answered simultaneously. "No one."

If that doesn't scream they're hiding something, then I don't know what will. "Alright, we better get to the living room."

As I led the way, I heard Rima's small voice telling the others something. "Whatever you do, remember don't mention anything about…"

Rima realized I was eavesdropping.

"It's not good to eavesdrop, cross-dresser." Back to name calling? I sighed as we walked through the hallways.

We reached the living room just in time to see Faith come out of the bathroom. "I knew you guys were here because I heard laughing and giggling from the front door. What was it all about?"

We all stared at Rima. "Hey, why are you all looking at me? It's the purple-head's fault!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger.

Says the one that didn't let go of my hand when I helped her up. Wait…

_Why_ didn't Rima let go once I helped her up? It's as if she wanted me to let go first, but like that would've happened. Why would I let go of the girl who's stolen my heart?

Could it be that Rima likes me also?

"Nagi, are you just going to stand there like a potato? Get inside the living room," Faith commanded.

I entered the living room, pushing the idea out of my head. I watched the golden-haired, petite girl smiling and talking to Amu. It couldn't be true.

Could it?

"_You have stolen my heart"_

The hours went by with the fun my friends, Faith and I were having. We had finished playing a random game Faith knew and now everyone was hungry.

"Fujisaki-kun, where's that cake you promised us?" Kukai inquired.

Yaya beamed. "Yeah! Yaya wants cake now!"

I could tell the others wanted the cake in a hurry because they were hungry, but to also quiet Yaya down.

Faith giggled at Yaya. "Calm down Yaya-chan." She stood up. "I'll go get the cake. I hope you guys will like it. Nagi and I baked it together earlier." She smiled at me and I returned it before she proceeded to walk out.

Faith was stopped short, however, by a certain girl's remark.

"Hey, Nagihiko, you should go help your girlfriend," Rima said innocently.

I sat there processing in my mind when Rima said. When it did, my eyes widened. I noticed Faith twitching at the doorway.

Yaya was too busy with her desire of cake to do anything, but Tadase, Amu and Kukai slightly snickered. As for Rima, she sat across from me, grinning like she didn't do anything wrong.

I shook my head. I probably heard wrong. "Excuse me? What did you say, Rima-chan?"

She stood up and repeated herself. "I said that a gentleman like you should go help your girlfriend with the cake."

My reply was to stand up and exclaim, "Faith's my what!"

Faith retreated from the door to join my side. She pointed at me. "I'm his what?"

Rima stepped back from our reaction and Amu, Tadase and Kukai now got up. "Girlfriend?"

I exchanged a glance with Faith before asking my friends, "You thought we were dating?"

Their expressions changed into confusion, but they managed to nod their heads.

Next to me Faith face-palmed and uttered, "And _this_ is why I miss Nadeshiko."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay. Let me get this straight, for the past several months, you all thought Faith and I were dating?" They nodded faster. "Who told you that?"

Kukai shoved Rima into view. "Mashiro."

Rima shot a glare his way and faced us. "Well, neither of you told me, but I kinda assumed it with the way you two act."

So what Yaya was trying to say earlier before Rima shut her mouth was this?

"At the ice rink, you two were pretty close and-"

"I was just helping Faith skate. She lacks balance and coordination."

Rima blinked back. "How about the time you played with her hair at the picnic?"

This was weird coming from Rima. "I was just getting the grass out of her hair. I would've done that for anybody, even Hotori-kun or Souma-kun." Maybe.

Rima pouted. "What about the time you told her that you wouldn't know how to live without her and that she was born to make you happy?"

My eyes narrowed, suspiciously. "I never said that. I said that she was born to make me realize that one day I might shoot myself because of her."

"And after that," Faith started, "I slapped him." I just wanted to make sure she was okay.

All eyes turned to Rima. I walked up to her and bent down. In a childlike voice, I asked, "Rima-chan, how did you know I said any of that? Could it be that you were spying on-"

In that instant, I gazed into Rima's amber eyes. Usually there'd be some trace of iciness, but this time there was none. Instead, I saw a flicker of something I've never seen in her eyes.

Before I was able to say anything, Faith ruined my moment.

"I can't believe you all thought we were… I don't even want to say it. Nagi's a nice guy and all, but why would I date somebody who doesn't even want me to date in the first place."

The guardians' heads tilted confuzzled.

"You might've never seen or known it, but Nagi, I swear, is one of the most protective people I've ever met. There's this guy I like and Nagi won't-"

I politely interrupted her. "They don't want to hear that right now, Faith. Why don't you just get the cake?"

She growled and finally left.

I sighed and faced my friends. An apologetic expression on their faces. "Don't worry about it. Yeah, Faith and I have known each other a long time and are really close, but we're more like brother and sister. If we even tried dating, well… just imagine Ikuto and Utau."

Besides, somebody's already stolen my heart.

We all stayed in our position, Amu being the first to break the silence. Her eyes widened and she became spazzy.

"Something wrong, Amu-chan?" Tadase wondered.

"Where's Yaya?"

Through the misunderstanding, we forgot about the pig-tailed girl and her craving for cake. We went investigating around the room, in case she was hiding.

When Yaya was nowhere to be found, we assumed she went to the kitchen herself. The five of us dropped to the ground. Today had been a long day.

My eyes closed. I replayed everything in my head, including the conversation not too long ago. I mentally sighed. Faith should be back with the cake _and_ Yaya anytime soon.

That was when I felt a flick on my forehead. I opened my eyes. "Hi, Rima-chan."

"Oh, you're alive; I thought you were dead. I was about to write something for your tombstone."

"Very funny, Rima-chan," I said sarcastically.

She turned to Tadase, Amu and Kukai – sitting across the room from us, absorbed in a conversation – before facing me. "Now let me get this straight, Faith's not your girlfriend?"

Why is she bringing this back? "No, she's not Rima-chan."

"Then why were you being so nice to her?"

I tilted my head to the side. "Aren't I nice in general? Besides, Faith's miles away from her parents; I didn't want her to feel homesick. I would've done that for Amu-chan or Yaya-chan." I smirked after. "I have a question for you, Rima-chan. Why did you pay so much attention to Faith and me?"

"I don't have to answer." Stubborn as always.

I sighed, "Rima-chan."

She pointed a finger and glared at me. "Wait, you said that you would've done those nice things for Amu or Yaya. Not that I care or anything, but what about me?"

I smirked again. "There's a reason I treat you differently, Rima-chan."

She narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

I chuckled. "Do you want to know?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Nagihiko, tell me now!"

"Okay, Rima-chan." It's now or never. "Rima-chan, remember-"

"The LETTER!"

What was that?

Our eyes shifted to the door where Faith was standing, more pissed than I have ever seen her.

"Suzuki-san," Tadase started, "what's the…"

He didn't get to finish. Faith stomped toward me, her fists clenched and eyes full of anger.

Rima and I got to our feet and backed up to our other friends. I put my hands up in defense, though I didn't know why she was mad in the first place. "Faith, why are you…"

She fake-grinned. "You know what else about Nagi that bugs me, other than him being protective? He's a LIAR!"

"We already knew that. It took him until our teacher's wedding in sixth grade to tell Amu and Yaya he was Nadeshiko."

Not helping Rima. "What did I do, Faith?"

She brought her hands out from behind her and pulled out an envelope. The second I saw it, I knew this little celebration before the middle school graduation would not end well.

"What is it, Faith?" Amu questioned, trying to see it.

"Oh, this? This is only the letter I've been waiting for since I got here! You see, the dance contest we entered was run by the same person who owns this prestige boarding school in London. If they thought we had potential and Nagi and I got accepted, we could get scholarships for the school. But, Nagi kept it from me!"

I groaned. "How did you even find it? It was in my room."

"I know. I was passing by your room and I heard a loud crash and some items floating, so I went to check it out. Then on your desk, I saw a bunch of letters and amongst them, found this one."

"Hold it. You're saying Fujisaki-kun, hid the letter from you. Why would he do that?"

"Yes, Nagi. Tell them why you hid it?"

"I-"

"When would you be attending the school and leaving if you got accepted?"

"We would be attending for high school," I announced. "And we would be leaving two days after the ceremony."

My friends' jaws dropped. "Fujisaki-kun, you weren't going to tell us?" the king asked.

I didn't know what to say which is why Rima did. "Wait! We don't even know if they got accepted or not. Faith, did you?"

She handed the envelope to Rima. "See for yourself."

Rima seized the letter from inside. I left her side and went to Faith's as she began unfolding the contents. "Nagihiko Fujisaki and Faith Suzuki, I am very pleased to inform you of your acceptance to attend…" she trailed off, not wanting to read more.

She looked up at me with those fawn eyes of hers and I, yet again, saw that same flicker in her eyes.

Rima…

She gave the letter back to Faith. "I guess this means you guys will be coming to the airport to say goodbye?"

They nodded slowly. In those minutes, I had pissed off my "sister," saddened four of my friends and shattered my heart.

The letter didn't only mean to bid a farewell, but also meant to crush everybody's spirit. I had just gotten back not too long ago and now I have to leave again. It's too early to say goodbye.

I observed my friends. Three distressed faces were painted over with smiles while the other remained emotionless.

It got quiet until…

"Hey guys, Yaya found the cake! Huh? What did Yaya miss?"

As Yaya strolled into the room with the cake, Rima took that opportunity to leave. "It's getting late. I promised my mom I'd return home. Bye, everyone." She casually past by me mumbling, "Have fun in England," before exiting the room.

Tadase, Amu and Kukai stayed hushed and Faith told Yaya everything that occurred.

I stood there a second before knowing what I had to do. I ran out of the room, despite my name being called.

I caught up to Rima right as she made it to the front door. It's a surprise she knows her way around this place.

"Rima-chan!"

She looked at me. Her face still impassive. "What cross-dresser?"

"Rima-chan," I spoke softly. "I didn't mean to not tell you guys we got accepted. I guess Faith can go and I'll stay here in Japan."

She blinked leisurely and sighed. "No, Nagihiko, you have to go. I've heard about that school; they don't just accept anyone. You have something special." She half-smiled.

"Rima-chan, but… I l- I mean, so are you coming to the airport?"

Her hand inched closer to the door. "I don't think so. Look, I really need to go. Tell KusuKusu to come home when she's done." With that, she pushed open the door and ran out, not even giving one last glance.

I sighed heavily. That's when a slip of paper caught my eye. I picked it up and examined it. My eyes widened and looked up, hoping Rima was still in sight, but she wasn't.

I walked back in my house with the letter I wrote to Rima the day I left for Europe. Why would she still have this unless…

I read the letter again, seeing that 'I love you' was circled.

Rima _does_ like me too. I sighed. I had so many chances to tell her tonight, but I didn't and I may never will.

I scanned the letter again and noticed something else. There were certain letters underlined. I stood there trying to decipher it.

After a couple minutes, I figured out the words "are," "waiting," "for," "what." There was one word left. Right as I was about to crack the code, I heard footsteps.

"Hey, Nagi, sorry I was rough on you in front of your friends. I didn't mean to upset them by telling them the news, but why didn't you want to tell them?"

As she asked me, I figured out the last word. "You!" I looked up at Faith.

She narrowed her eyes. "What's that?" She grabbed the letter from me and read it. When she was finished she was stunned. "I get it now. Ugh, I can't believe I'm so stupid! You like Rima-chan, don't you? Wait, so you thought if you left without saying goodbye, it would hurt her less?"

No comment.

"Nagi, Nagi, Nagi." She shook her head disapprovingly. "I don't want to get involved in your love life, like you do to mine, but I _have_ to tell your this: What are you waiting for?"

That's it! The coded message.

"While you think it over, I'm going to check on our friends." She vanished into the hallways.

I stood there staring at the letter, thinking of what to do next. All I know is that Faith's right...

What am I waiting for?

To be continued…

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I know this chapter doesn't do justice, but at least almost everything has been explained.

Happy New Year!

Constructive criticism, please.


	10. What Are You Waiting For?

**Author's Note:** I wanted to re-write this chapter because I hated the outcome of the other and wanted to make it "better." I altered the plot a bit, removed the lyrics and made it third person.

Constructive criticism, please because I failed just as much in this one.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _What Are You Waiting For_ by Miranda Cosgrove.

* * *

_**What Are You Waiting For**_

There they stood. Two people who, if you asked them when they first met, insisted they hated each other and swore that they – well, at least one of them – were never going to be friends, let alone fall in love with each other.

For reasons untold, fate had a way of breaking through that so-called unbreakable thread and arranging the two bitter rivals to become friends.

Though, it wasn't easy. The two went through the various obstacles and predicaments life threw at them, but they managed to make it through and realize their true feelings for the other.

But just as things were going to be perfect, fate throws in an unexpected surprise for them, to test their relationship. Will things work out?

It will with one phrase: _what are you waiting for?_

"_Here I am"_

Rima's petite hand pushed the front door open. "I'm going now. Tell KusuKusu to come home when she's done," she whispered before running to her house.

By the time Rima lost sight of the Fujisaki mansion, Nagihiko concluded that he just made the dumbest mistake in his life by not telling her.

It would've been _one_ of the dumbest but was confirmed as _the_ dumbest when a slip of ivory paper caught his eye. He scanned the sheet, groaning.

He realized it was the letter he wrote Rima the day he left for Europe which had a phrase circled and random letters underlined. After confirming what the sentence was with Faith, Nagihiko sat outside in the dark, his arm resting on his leg and his chin on top of his arm. He sighed, "What is she waiting for?"

By now, Rima arrived at her house. She stepped onto the porch and stopped. She bent forward and placed her hands on her knees to regain her breathing. When this was done, she raised herself up, rotating her body, and shaking her head disapprovingly.

Rima sighed as a phrase she knew popped in her mind. "What is he waiting for?" she mumbled.

"_Take a chance"_

The sun rose high in the sky the day following the middle school graduation. Its rays brightening up the city with warmth and sunshine, as if it the light was supposed to be a wake-up call. Although, people would already be awake at noon.

Everyone, except for the ex-Queen's chair. She lay sleeping in her bed with the covers pulled over her head. She had stayed up the night before, trying to erase the moments of and with_ him_ that filled her mind.

She didn't do it just out of the blue. She believed if she wiped the memories away, it wouldn't hurt to see him leave for Europe again.

Too bad, though, Rima couldn't accomplish her goal. Instead of forgetting, she remembered and relived everything, including the day they met, the day Amu made the three of them go to the mall and the countless times he's saved and been there for her.

It was hard for Rima to go to bed with all this on her mind but eventually, she managed to. The reason because she cried herself to sleep, thinking about the memories.

At half-past noon, Rima stirred in her sleep. Even with the slight movement, Rima's petite legs kicked the blanket down, so her head was now exposed. The radiance of the sun's light filtered through the tiny cracks in the curtain, shining on Rima's porcelain face.

Rima woke up but kept her eyes closed, since she wasn't used to the light. She let out a small sigh as she sat up in bed and rubbed away the sleep. Rima opened her eyes to be greeted with daylight and sunshine.

She peered at the clock and frowned. "Twelve thirty already," she muttered. She swung her feet to the side of the bed and jumped down. Then she walked to her desk, grabbing an egg and tapping it to wake up her clown chara.

In a moment, KusuKusu hatched and giggled. "Morning, Rima!" KusuKusu darted around the room. "What are we doing today?"

As if on cue, Rima's cell phone vibrated.

Rima picked up her phone and put it to her ear, not bothering to see who it was first. "Hello?"

"Rima, it's Amu. Are you awake?" Rima removed the phone from her ear and narrowed her eyes at the caller before putting it back. In the background, Rima heard Amu talking to somebody else; she listened in. "Oh, that's right. She wouldn't be answering the phone if she wasn't awake."

"Amu, what do you want?"

Amu cleared her throat. "I was wondering if you weren't busy today. If not, do you want to come with Yaya, Faith and I to the mall since it's Faith's last day in Japan?"

Rima thought about her options. "Sure, I'll come."

"Great! Meet me at one near the clock pole." Amu hung up the phone.

"One o'clock?" Rima cautiously turned to glance at the clock. "That's in fifteen minutes! Damn Amu," she cursed. Rima threw on the first things she saw, which was an orange and white sundress, while KusuKusu laughed at her bearer's predicament.

Once she finished changing, Rima snatched a comb and rapidly brushed her hair. She put on her favorite headband, grabbed a jacket, locked the front door and began running to her destination with KusuKusu flying behind.

While Rima was struggling to meet Amu on time, the pink-haired girl dropped the phone on her bed and rolled onto a beanbag chair. "She should be there soon. You should do your part now."

A brown-haired girl smiled at her. "Of course. After this, we're going to meet Yaya at the mall, right?" Amu nodded. "Alright." Faith took her phone and dialed the number. There were a few rings before the person picked up.

"What's up, Faith?"

"Hey, Nagi, are you done hanging out with your basketball friends?"

"Yes, why? Do you need something?"

"Kind of. Want to spend our last day in Japan together?"

"Weren't you supposed to go to the mall with Amu-chan and Yaya-chan?"

Faith stiffened, thinking Nagi had caught her. Thinking a bit, she came up with a reason.

"Nah, Rima's going with them, so I just canceled. Meet me at the clock pole in twenty minutes."

"The clock pole! That's on the other side of the city compared to where I am right now. I can't make it in twenty minutes."

"Too bad, Nagi. Bye." Before he could object, Faith shut her phone.

There was stillness until Faith and Amu exchanged a glance and grinned. "Mission accomplished."

"_I'm telling you as a friend"_

Rima and KusuKusu made it to the clock pole minutes later than the established time. Rima panted on her knees and wiped the beads of sweat with the back of her hand.

KusuKusu laughed, "Rima's all sweaty!"

Rima gently flicked her chara before getting up and walking over to the bench. She pouted since the girl who told her to meet her here ten minutes ago was nowhere in sight. "KusuKusu, do you sense any charas?"

KusuKusu placed both of her hands on the sides of her head, using the chara radar to sense the others. "I feel two, Rima."

"Two?" Rima asked confused. "Amu has _four _charas. She wouldn't just leave two at home."

KusuKusu snapped her fingers. "Let me try again." She repeated the chara radar, but she ended up getting distracted. "Look at the pretty flowers, Rima!"

The blonde girl sighed, "KusuKusu, you're no help. I'll just call her." As Rima was dialing the number, she froze. She heard heavy breathing coming from behind. Rima closed her golden eyes, hoping it wasn't a kidnapper.

She at last opened her eyes to see a small purple flower next to her. Rima pouted for getting worried over a measly flower. She began twirling it with two fingers.

While she did that, the person who flung the flower approached her. "I'm five minutes late. Do you think she'd mind?" he questioned his charas.

"I told you to chara nari with me. You would've gotten here in no time!" Rhythm exclaimed.

Temari pushed him to the side. "I don't think she'll mind, especially with the flower you just gave her," she winked. "Something's strange, though. My chara radar is picking up another chara nearby."

Nagihiko shook his head knowing that Faith didn't have a chara. He crept toward the bench. As he was in proximity of the person, he was going to say something but looking down at the sitting person, he raised his eyebrows instead.

Nagihiko put a hand behind his head, wondering if there were other clock poles and he went to the wrong one. He would've retreated if he didn't remember what Temari said earlier.

"_A chara? Locks of sunshine?_" he thought. Crap.

Nagihiko speculated why the ex-Queen was sitting here, since she was supposed to be at the mall with the ex-Joker and the ex-Ace. Before the ex-Jack tapped her shoulder, she spoke up.

"Amu, you're late! It's going to take more than a flower to make me forgive you." Rima turned around and narrowed her eyes. "Nagihiko, what are you doing here?"

Nagihiko walked around and sat down on the bench right next to her. His charas went to go join KusuKusu, who was awing at the trees. "I was going to ask you that same question. Faith called and told me to run here to meet her."

"That's weird. Amu told me the same thing…" she trailed. There were a few moments of silence as the doll-like girl pondered. "They set us up," Rima proclaimed seconds later, standing up from the bench.

Nagihiko, who had been watching the charas, faced her. "_Really_?" he said with a sarcastic tone. "I _didn't _know that."

Rima shot a death glare his way and pouted. "Don't use sarcasm on me!"

"And why not?" Nagihiko smirked. "Does it bother you?"

Rima took that opportunity; she smirked slightly. "No, it doesn't. I _love _it when you use sarcasm!"

Too bad Rima didn't foresee what Nagihiko was going to say next.

Nagihiko grinned. "Okay, then I'll use it more often, especially on _you_."

The aggravated blonde threw her hands in the air in frustration. "_That_ was sarcasm!"

"I _didn't_ know that," he voiced innocently.

Rima twitched. "You're impossible, you know that?"

Expecting another remark from the purple-head next to her, Rima went on high-alert. To her disappointment, however, there was no witty banter. The only sound at the moment was his chuckling, which seemed to piss off the ex-Queen just as much.

"What are you laughing about?"

Nagihiko genuinely smiled and turned to Rima. "You're finally talking to me."

Rima was out of words. She was debating to ask him a random question, so they could stray away from the topic, or let him be bored with the quiet to the point where'd he get up and leave.

Knowing Nagihiko, though, Rima knew the latter wouldn't happen. She'd have to rely on her asking off-topic-question abilities.

Right as she was about to pose something about clouds, Nagihiko halted her. "Sorry, can I go first?" Rima gave a small nod. "As soon as you saw me, I thought you were still mad, so you'd stomp away. But you stayed though… Thanks, Rima-chan."

Once the ex-Jack was done with his thought, he replayed the words in his mind, regretting what came out. To him, it was quite silly. He was almost positive the girl next to him would laugh her ass of, say some rude comment and then skip off, leaving him there.

What gave him some confidence she wouldn't do those things was the letter inside his pocket; it was the evidence that confirmed she liked him also.

The purple-haired boy sat patiently awaiting the response. As he did, he couldn't help but admire Rima's angelic features. He tiny smiled to himself.

After a long silence, Rima got up from the bench and put her back to him. Nagihiko's nightmare was on the verge of becoming true. Just as he expected her to walk away, Rima surprisingly turned around and stood on tip-toes, giving Nagihiko a pat on the head. "No problem."

His smile grew wide and in that moment, he didn't know what came over him. It could've been the fact that the girl who stole his heart isn't mad at him anymore and is talking to him or it could be because it's his last day in Japan. Whatever it was, he came up with an idea.

"Since we're both here and hate our best friends, want to go somewhere together and fulfill their plan for the fun of it?"

Rima went back on her heels. After taking a glimpse at the charas and then at the boy in front of her, she whispered her answer. "Sure."

"_We could be so much more"_

The two ex-Guardians and their charas strolled into town, looking for something to do. Suddenly, a low grumbling sound was emitted. Rima stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, crossing her arms over her stomach, in her attempt to hide the noise.

Since Rima had just woken up when Amu called her, she didn't have time to eat before she left the house. Although she was indeed hungry, she didn't want to let the boy a couple feet in front of her know. Right as Rima was going to move forward, the charas and Nagihiko stopped.

They rotated to face the girl who was behind. Two of the four were confused as to why she was just standing there while the other two knew exactly why.

Rima looked up at the four faces, forcing a smile that would assure everything was alright, when in truth it wasn't. She caught up to them, her arms no longer on her stomach, praying that her tummy wouldn't make a peep.

Inside, she was concentrating really hard for her stomach to not make the gurgling noise, that it reminded her more of her hunger. She kept it to herself, nonetheless.

Once they continued walking, however, as if he was reading her body language, Nagihiko turned to Rima, with a slight smirk on his face. "Rima-chan, you're hungry aren't you?"

"No!" she responded fiercely, whipping her head to face and give him a scowl. That would've been believable – okay, believable to anyone except Nagihiko – but right as Rima pointed an angry finger at him, someone carrying and eating food passed by them. The scent traveled through the air, causing Rima to in inhale the aroma and make her stomach grumble.

He chuckled. "Sure, you're not hungry." Rima glared at him.

"I'm not." Rima kept up her stubborn attitude.

"Yeah, because anyone who wakes up at noon, skips breakfast and uses all their energy to run to somewhere, shouldn't be hungry." Rima blankly looked at him as Nagihiko grinned, knowing what that face meant. "KusuKusu," he explained.

The clown chara left her friends' sides and hovered to in front of her owner. "I had to Rima. It's not good to skip-" Rima frowned. "Oh, forget it! Where did I go wrong with you?"

Rima's jaw opened somewhat. Nagihiko laughed as did Temari and Rhythm. "Don't worry, Rima-chan. I'm kind of hungry myself. Why don't we hurry? I know the _perfect_ place for us to eat."

With that, Nagihiko, without consent, intertwined his hand with Rima's and started running to the place he thought would be ideal to eat at.

After going through several blocks, they were inches away from their destination. Nagihiko slowed his pace, now giving Rima the opportunity to regain her breathing. Her eyes wandered to where their hands were connected. She slightly blushed, muttering some incoherent words.

She regained her composure as Nagihiko looked down at her. "We're here," he smiled.

Rima growled. "Oh, joy. Knowing you, you'd probably take me to- Anywhere but here!" She gazed at the facade of the cafe, gulping as memories flashed through her mind. Jerking her hand away, she looked up at him. "Are you sure you don't want to go else where? I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for..."

Nagihiko simply smiled and shook his head. Rima blew up her bangs in irritation while Nagihiko re-took her hand in his. Two charas snickered as one politely giggled. Rima glared at them but ceased as she felt her hand being tugged.

The purple-haired boy led her to a table outside. He dropped her hand and pulled out the chair and gestured toward it. Rima fumed. "Cross-dresser, I could've done that myself." She plopped on the chair, arms over her chest and muttered, "But thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm going to order inside since it'll be faster. Anything you want in particular?"

"Not really." Rima narrrowed her eyes suspicously, noticing the boy fidget a bit. "I think I want to come inside..." She stood up.

Nagihiko motioned for her to sit back down, hoping she wouldn't catch on, for he had a plan up his sleeve and it wasn't going to work if she came inside. He calmly replied, "No, Rima-chan, allow me. You stay here with the charas. I'll pay for your food."

With much convincing later, Rima agreed to Nagihiko's request to sit at the table and wait for him. He opened the cafe door, the bell rang as he did. Stepping inside, the door closed behind him.

Rima watched him go inside before moving her arms onto the table and laying her head on top. She examined the three charas on the table, smiling, laughing and playing.

"Rhythm! One, two, three!"

"Bala-balance!" KusuKusu and Rhythm proclaimed simultaneously. They posed in the correct fashion, receiving a smile from the clown chara's owner and Temari.

Rima's amber eyes averted from the scene to the empty chair across from her. A sigh escaped her lips. She thought back to the day when she went back to this cafe, only to find out Nagihiko had left, and how she fell into Kirishma's proposition.

She thought back to the day she came to the cafe one rainy day, and how she had the letter Nagihiko wrote her in her pocket. She frowned recalling the days without Nagihiko.

Somehow, though, after imagining the lonely times, a tiny smiled managed onto her face. Rima realized they were spending the day together before he was leaving tomorrow. They were making the most of it.

"_Amu and Faith did know what they were doing_," she thought. "_And who knows, he could make everything alright_." The frown that was originally on Rima's face had blossomed into a genuine smile, but it dropped moments later as something struck.

She had not the slightest idea when or if she was ever going to see him again. She raised her head and then tilted it downward, so she was staring at her feet. Rima tried her best to get her mind off the pain, but it wasn't working.

Temari, Rhythm and KusuKusu had stopped their fun and looked up at the sad girl. KusuKusu went up to her owner, grabbed her cheeks and pulled them, resulting in a gag face. "Look, funny face!"

Rima did her best to smile. It was only then did Nagihiko appeared. Her sad outer appearance faded into her regular expression.

"Took you long enough."

"Sorry, Rima-chan. There was a long line." He pulled out the seat and sat down. An awkward silence then filled the air. Rima looked from him to the charas, then to him again before settling on the charas. Nagihiko mentally sighed, wanting the silence to end. He knew what to bring up. "So, Rima-chan... I'm sorry."

The girl glared at him confused. "About what?"

"For not telling you and the others about the acceptance letter," he replied.

"Why'd you do that?" Rima held in the sadness.

"I don't know," he responded slowly. "I guess, maybe, because I wanted to tell you that..." he trailed. Rima raised her eyes at him, waiting for him to continue. As on cue, however, the waitress that served as the messenger months ago came out with their food. "Never mind."

The waitress laid the tray of food on the table and smiled at Rima. "Hey, I remember you. I gave you a letter from this boy." Rima nodded. "I guess it worked out. Enjoy your food." She walked away but not before purposely dropping a sheet of paper on the ground.

Rima snatched a spoon and took a bite of her parfait. "You were saying."

"Ah, yes. I was say- Rima-chan, what's that?" Nagihiko pointed to the white paper. He picked it up and examined it.

"What is it?"

Nagihiko flipped it and showed her. "It's the letter I wrote to you."

Rima kept her spoon in her mouth. "I did put it in this jacket!"

Nagihiko raised an eyebrow at her for not knowing he had the letter this whole week. He had asked the waitress to drop it at her feet when she gave the food. This plan was to give her the courage to finally tell her.

He breathed in. "You kept the letter this whole time," Nagihiko smiled, taking a bit of his food. "Why?"

"..."

"Why is this circled and certain letters underlined? Could they spell out a phrase?" he smirked.

Rima stiffened and slightly blushed, realizing what was happening. She figured out why she hadn't known where she put the letter. Rima mentally cursed herself as she had to think of something. She guessed that this was a set-up to say how she really felt about him and probably how he felt about her. Rima had two options. One, to go along with it and say what she needed to say. Or two...

"Are you suggesting that I like you? Psst, as if! You're nothing but a lying purple-haired cross-dresser. Why would I ever like someone like you? If we were the only two humans on the planet, wait, let me rephrase that. If you were the only human on the planet because I would've killed myself because I wouldn't want to be stuck with you!"

Deny it and insult him.

She had stood up to emphasize it but now she sat back down. She panicked inside her head, hoping no one was near. Luckily, there wasn't. Only one person - unless, you count the charas - heard it.

Nagihiko's mouth fell open after she finished. But as he replayed what she said and studied her movements, he knew it was fake. Yes, Nagihiko could still read Rima like an open book. He knew she was acting, but even though it wasn't real, it still hurt him inside. Hurt him to not wanting to say anything back. Hurt him to the point of losing all his courage to ever confess to her.

Rima watched the purple-haired boy across from her. She saw his facial expression change from happy to hurt. Temari and Rhythm went by his side to see if he was alright. Rima couldn't believe she had said that to him. The memories of him leaving her and the sadness she felt had raced through her mind at the moment. Perhaps, Rima wanted Nagihiko to feel the pain she went through?

Well, it worked. Nagihiko stayed quiet the whole time they were eating, even though Rima brought up conversations.

Several minutes later of slumping in her chair and finishing her parfait, Rima glanced at Nagihiko. His mood had eased; he didn't seem as sad. Right as she was about to speak, Nagihiko beat her to it.

"Since you're done, ready to go Rima-chan?"

She was startled. "Yeah, go where?"

"Anywhere you want." He stood up and walked over, taking her hand and helping her up.

Rima didn't know why Nagihiko was being nice to her. This was like the time she spent the day with him because her parents had divorced, except Rima hadn't insulted him before. "But aren't you mad? Don't you hate me?"

He softly smiled. His ochre eyes meeting her golden ones. "I wasn't mad, more of sad, but I'm not that much anymore. And Rima-chan I keep telling you this, I have never and will ever hate you. You keep doing that to me, though." Nagihiko had mumbled the last part.

They were walking away from the cafe now. He took her little hand in his and they went in the direction of their next destination, their charas trailing behind.

Rima looked up at him every now and then to see him smile at her. It was then that Rima totally regretted what she said. Rima had a hunch, but she wasn't completely aware that confessing would be all up to her now.

As they left the cafe, three pairs of eyes had been watching them through the glass window. They walked outside to the table they were sitting at. The person in the middle bent down to pick up the discarded and forgotten letter lying on the ground. She sighed, "Really, Rima?"

"_I never thought anyone ever could make me feel this way"_

Several hours later, the day was coming to an end. Nagihiko and Rima were side-by-side walking until, she complained she was tired and wanted to rest. He grinned and tugged on her hand, pulling her to the side of the road. Nagihiko was ahead, sliding down the green grass hill with Rima following. As soon as Nagihiko reached the bottom, Rima was halfway. Her hand slipped out of his and she lost her balance. She tripped over her feet as she went faster than she wanted.

Rima was just about to hit and fall face first on the flat grass if Nagihiko hadn't caught her by the shoulders first.

He chuckled. "You can be such a klutz sometimes."

Rima rolled her eyes. "Well, you can be such a girl sometimes."

"Rima-chan," he whined.

Turning her head away, making her curls swish, she held her head up and skipped from his side to the big body of water in front of them. Before Nagihiko went to join her, he scanned for the charas, who were still at the top of the hill. The three of them pointed over at Rima; he nodded and went to her side.

Although the charas could fly, they decided to do what their owners had done since it looked fun. The three of them joined hands as they all slid down the hill together. It was fun. But then, as they hit the bottom, they crash landed. That wasn't fun. They dragged their tiny bodies to their bearers.

Rima and Nagihiko removed their attention from the sunset reflected water to their feet. They exchanged a glimpse and picked up their charas. Their charas conjured up their eggs and went inside them yawning, tired. The two ex-guardians smiled at their respective charas, thinking that one day they won't have them anymore. With no more X-eggs running around, guardians were no longer needed. They were growing up.

Rima held KusuKusu's egg tightly as she dropped to the grass. She fixed her dress before placing the egg in her lap. Nagihiko sat down on the grass as well, right beside her. He placed his eggs in his pocket. The two were quiet for awhile as they watched the sunset's effect on the water.

The colors and the intensity of the light calmed both of them, especially Rima. It served a purpose to her. She thought about how rough today was at first, denying something that was true and then being mean about it.

As she gazed over at Nagihiko, she wondered why he put up with her after all this time. He would reply that they were friends and that's what friends do. She somehow hoped, though, it was for a different reason. She moved slightly closer to Nagihiko. Normally, he would've smirked at this, but the look on Rima's face told him not to.

She clutched the hem of her dress knowing this was their final hour together, that this was the end. She longed for the power to start today over again but without the ridicule. Rima rewound today. After the cafe, they had gone to the park and got ice cream. Since that was after the incident at the cafe, they're talking was just short phrases. Once they finished the ice cream, the two wandered through Tokyo. They visited and played with Benkei, went to the royal garden and walked around the once art and music festival grounds.

Nagihiko finally spoke, interrupting the silence and Rima's thoughts. "The sunset's really amazing."

Rima gazed at him and responded, "Yeah, it is. Too bad it won't stay." There was a pause. "Are you going to miss Tokyo?" Rima knew she was going to miss him.

He smiled. "Of course I will. Sure I'm going to this prestigious school in England, but it doesn't have you..." Rima's eyes widened for a second. "And the others."

"Yeah, you can't forget the others."

Nagihiko sensed resentment in Rima's tone. "Something wrong, Rima-chan?"

Rima tried thinking of an excuse but nothing came to her, so she said one thing on her mind. "I'm sorry about insulting you earlier," she mumbled.

He grinned. "It's okay. I was so happy being with you, I actually forgot about that." He chuckled lightly.

Rima held the blush from appearing on her cheeks. She changed the subject. "The sunset on the water's pretty."

Nagihiko went with it. "It is. You mentioned earlier that it was too bad it couldn't stay, right? Well, you don't have to worry, Rima-chan. If you give the sunset wings and let it go, I know it'll return soon." He winked at her.

Rima re-played what he said. "_Was he referencing himself just now_?" she thought. "You're right. It will return, but for now, I guess all I can do is be happy I'm able to see it and spend time with it." The corners of Rima's mouth curved upward. She scooted closer to Nagihiko.

Nagihiko didn't say anything back. He simply moved closer to her also, a smile on his face. Rima used some of her strength to push herself slightly off the ground. Nagihiko lifted a hand up and placed it on her chin, tilting it up. They leaned forward. Right as their lips were about to meet...

A sound was heard from Nagihiko's pocket. Rima retreated and turned her head away, closing her eyes and pouting.

Nagihiko flipped his phone open. "This better be important, Faith," Nagihiko said a little irritated at his friend's timing.

"It is! Your mom is having a hissy fit about tomorrow, so she wants you home right now. Here listen." Nagihiko listened and heard his mother's voice on the other end. It seemed like she was having a panic attack. "You see my point."

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

"Yeah, hurry!"

The line went dead. Nagihiko stood up. "Rima-chan, I need to go right now. Sorry, I can't walk you home. Are you going to be alright?"

"Yes. Thanks for today," Rima said quietly. Once she spoke, Nagihiko had began running. He stopped, however, turned to look at her, and ran back.

"I forgot to ask you to come to the airport tomorrow. My flight's at three o'clock, so I hope to see you there. Bye, Rima-chan." Nagihiko ran again and waved. Rima waved and sighed, falling back.

As Nagihiko scaled the hill, three figures went behind a tree. Unbeknownst to Rima and Nagihiko, the same three pairs of eyes had been watching them the whole day. The one in the middle faced the one on her right. They winked and nodded their heads with a plan in mind. Before leaving, the one in the middle left the letter she picked up in the cafe on the ground, making sure her friend would find it.

_"So make my day"_

"Flight 9A to London England will now begin pre-boarding. Passengers please proceed to the gate. Thank you," a person on the intercom stated as a loud click and static crackling was heard.

The six friends and their charas stood several feet away from the gate saying their farewells, while Faith and Nagihiko's mother sat and observed them.

The auburn-haired boy was the first to say goodbye. He stuck out his hand and grinned his signature smile. The boy across from him returned it and stuck his hand out as well. Their hands collided together before they retreated it toward themselves and then brought it forward for a fist pound. "Come back soon, Fujisaki-kun."

"Will do, Souma-kun."

Kukai stepped back. The boy with blond hair was next. He remained composed like a king and just smiled. "Take care and be strong, Fujisaki-kun."

Nagihiko nodded his head as Tadase stepped beside Kukai.

The following person, a sugar-loving-baby, ambushed him with a hug. "Aww, Nagi, don't go. Yaya will miss you."

He laughed. "I'll come to visit. You can count on that."

That response was enough for Yaya. She moved back to join the two boys.

Amu was up to bat. They hugged. "Call and write and don't forget us, okay, Nadeshiko?"

Nagihiko backed up from the pink-haired girl and eyed her. "Amu-chan!" he exclaimed. Amu smiled innocently and used her sparkle attack. Nagihiko sighed. He breathed in and altered his pitch to make it octaves higher. "I won't. Don't worry, Amu-chan."

Amu clapped her hands together and squealed. Faith and Nagihiko's mother giggled from their seats. He rotated to them and frowned.

The charas overhead had observed their owners goodbyes. They decided it was their chance to say their goodbyes to the two charas leaving. Each of the charas said a little sentence and gave a hug or high-five to Temari and Rhythm. Once they were done, they turned their attention back to see the final farewell.

Kukai, Tadase, Yaya and Amu all went to the side leaving space for Rima and Nagihiko, even Faith and Nagihiko's mother got up from their seats and went in line to get on board the plane to give them some privacy. Before going though, Faith waved her last goodbye to her Tokyo friends. "I'll see everyone soon."

Nagihiko raised his eyebrows at Faith. He faced the other way when he remembered the angel standing before him.

A tiny smiled appeared on her face. "You're really leaving..."

"Yeah. Like I said, I'll be back again. Just like that sunset." A grin appeared on his face.

Rima's smile grew. "I guess." Pause. "Well, good luck and have fun. See you soon." Rima stuck her hand out. "Bye, Nagihiko." Nagihiko narrowed his eyes.

"Really, Rima-chan? A handshake?"

"What?"

"I was expecting..." Nagihiko paused to think. He put his previous idea to the side and instead took her hand. With their hands connected, he pulled her to him. "A hug." She fell into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her petite waist. He smirked, "I'll miss you, princess."

Rima didn't care if she blushed because her face was hidden. When she was sure she wasn't red anymore, she raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. "I'll miss you too... Purple-head."

He chuckled at her. After a few more seconds, they broke from the hug. Nagihiko walked away from her, grabbing his luggage off a seat and headed for the line with Temari and Rhythm. He turned, giving another wave.

Rima's friends and the charas gathered around her. They looked from Nagihiko to Rima and then Rima to Nagihiko again frowning, thinking what they wanted the most for their two friends didn't come true, even on the last day.

Although Rima didn't show it on the outside, she, like her friends, was sad about her situation. She wondered what she did wrong? She suddenly felt stupid, wrong. She had built this idea up in her mind for so long, only to get what she didn't want.

She sighed and frowned. Right as she was about to run, no longer being able to bear watching Nagihiko leave, she was halted. A ping sound was heard and Rima lost control of her actions.

Her friends turned to examine her since she wasn't acting normal.

Amu put a hand on her shoulder. "KusuKusu, did you chara change with her?" she asked, seeing face-paint on the blonde's face.

"No. Our chara change involves bala-balance and when I chara change with her, Rima has a star and rain drop on her face, not a heart and a pair of wings," KusuKusu pointed out.

The friends exchanged worried glances with each other. They wanted to call Nagihiko back, hoping that he would know, but as they lifted their heads, it was Nagihiko's turn to hand in his ticket. The friends held in their voice.

Just as Nagihiko was about to go through the tunnel into the airport, Rima lifted her head and desperately shouted, "Nagihiko, don't think twice to take me away! I'm waiting for you... What are you waiting for!"

The passengers who were near got quiet. They stared at the tiny girl, never guessing a voice like that could come from her. Another ping sound was heard. Rima swiftly covered her mouth, her face turning a shade she never became. _"What did I just say?"_ she thought. Amu comforted her while Rima concealed her face in embarassment.

The pink-haired girl moved away from Rima, though, when she saw someone approaching.

"Amu, are they still looking at me? Amu?" Her hands were gently removed from her face. She looked up to see a purple-haired boy. "Nagi-"

He chuckled. "Finally, Rima-chan. It took you long enough." He placed his hand on her chin and tilted it up, bringing it closer to him. They slowly moved toward each other, closing their eyes until their lips softly met.

The people watching clapped softly and made "aww" sounds. Rima and Nagihiko's friends, after sighing in relief, smiled at each other.

During the whole scene, someone was watching from not too far away. A grin appeared on the person's face as the message was sent. Shutting her phone, she strolled out of the airport with her charas and headed for the recording studio, ready to sing from her heart.

Seconds passed until Amu heard a beep in her pocket. She read the message, eyes widening. It read:

_I told her a girl can dream. If you ever need her to speak from her heart again, just ask for El. :)_

Amu didn't want to question, she just wanted to smile and quietly whisper, "Utau."

Rima and Nagihiko backed up from each other. "I'm sorry I didn't use words like you to express how much you mean to me."

Rima still in a daze of what happened just nodded her head. That _was _indeed her first kiss. Sure, she went out with Kirishma, but that doesn't mean they kissed. When she snapped back to her senses she questioned, "If I meant so much to you, why didn't you do anything earlier?"

"You hurt my feelings, remember?" Nagihiko said innocently. "It's true though, Rima-chan. You mean a lot to me, whether you believe it or not." He smirked, "I bet you believe it; you just don't want to admit it."

"Oh, fine," Rima pouted.

They backed up more from each other. Nagihiko held out his pinkie. "Although I'll be studying abroad for an unspecified time, promise we'll meet again?"

Rima hesitated, "Well..." She heard her friends gasp behind her. "Just kidding. I promise."

Nagihiko smiled and spread his arms out for a hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"You said that already."

"Alright. How about I say that I love you, Rima-chan?"

"Uh..."

He chuckled. He inhaled and imitated her voice. "I love you too, Nagihiko."

Rima narrowed her eyes. "I don't sound like-" Nagihiko pressed his lips to her, interrupting her sentence.

"Final call for boarding to London, England."

Nagihiko and Rima stepped back from each other after another hug.

He picked up his luggage from the ground. Temari and Rhythm left their chara friends again and went to join their owner. Nagihiko walked through the tunnel after one last wave. He dissappeared.

Once Nagihiko was out of sight, the group went over to the window. They waited some time to hear the announcer on the intercom say that the plane was getting ready to fly. The friends spotted the plane their friend was on about to take off. Moments later, the plane took to the sky and vanished into the clouds.

Amu broke the silence. "Rima, are you okay?"

Rima didn't answer out loud. In her heart, she knew she wasn't okay. But, she knew she would be.

Rima know no matter what or how long, she'll be waiting here for Nagihiko, not because she made a promise to herself but because Rima knows that he'll want her to.

To be continued…


	11. Waiting Here

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara or any of its characters. I also do not own _Waiting Here_ by Kate Alexa.

_**Waiting Here**_

"Rima-chan…"

"What is it?"

A petite blonde girl with the appearance of an angel stood inches in front of a tall purple-headed boy, who had his hands behind his back, secretly holding a bag.

The boy averted his eyes from the girl to the sparkling lake, the water traveling downstream, glistening and shimmering, from the flaming star in the sky.

"Nagihiko, I swear, if you called me here to watch the lake with you, then—"

"I'm leaving for Europe." The words rushed out of his mouth before he could stop them. Wanting to see her reaction, he faced her. Many emotions crossed her face—surprise being the most evident. Some others consisted of anger, for not telling her sooner, and joy, for him having the opportunity to go. The one emotion that struck Nagihiko the most, however, was loneliness. He frowned, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Rima was quiet, she didn't speak. When the time came that she was ready, she uttered, "How long?"

Nagihiko cringed at the question. He _knew_ how long but tried avoiding the answer because he was positive she wouldn't like it.

When there was no reply, Rima stepped forward and looked right into his ochre eyes, not a trace of emotion remained on her face.

Although he didn't want to, he had to tell her. So Nagihiko spoke the sentence that would break the fragile girl. "I don't think I'm ever coming back."

True to his thoughts, Rima broke inside, but she attempted not to show it. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, despite Nagihiko watching. By the fourth inhale, the exhale came out along with tears.

"Rima-chan," he whispered, extending a hand to wipe them away.

She jerked from his touch and nearly backed into the lake. "L-Leave me alone!" she screamed in frustration.

Nagihiko stared at Rima minutes before turning his back on her. "If that's how you're going to be… Goodbye, Rima-chan." With the bag in his hand, he walked away.

Rima reacted in seconds. She began chasing after Nagihiko, only to be stopped short.

A waterway stretching for miles emerged in front of her. She backed up, thinking she could jump over it, but it widened in a flash and continued growing. She stepped backwards, not to get caught in the water.

It finally stopped widening; unfortunately, Nagihiko was too far. He paused and rotated. Even though he was several feet away, his words carried across the water to Rima.

"Don't worry. We'll meet again as long as you're waiting here."

"Nagihiko…"

"Rima!" The blonde girl tilted her head hearing the boy's voice; it was octaves higher and was accompanied by giggles.

"Nagihiko?"

"Rima!"

She scrutinized the cross-dresser across the body of water separating them. "Nagihiko!"

"NO! RIMA!"

The angel girl's golden eyes flew open ; they were greeted by a miniature clown. A tiny squeal was heard followed by a loud thump. Rima lifted a hand to her head, checking for a bruise. She pouted seconds later and glared at her chara. "KusuKusu, what was that for?"

"You were talking in your sleep again. You kept mumbling Nagi-kun's name over and over and—"

Rima flicked KusuKusu. "I get it." Rima got up from the ground, dusted her pajamas and tried to remove the dream she just had by thumping her head. It didn't work.

She walked over to her desk and snatched her tangerine phone, hoping there was something from the boy in her dream. She scrolled through the calls and messages. Nothing. She dropped the hand holding the phone and sighed. "Of course it was_ just_ another dream," she muttered.

"Rima," KusuKusu said with concern in her tone, "is everything okay?"

Rima snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah, I better get ready for school." She tossed her phone on the table before going into the bathroom."

Her chara stared after her. Once she was gone, the curious clown floated over to the phone. KusuKusu frowned, "Nagi-kun, she's been waiting here. When are you coming back?"

Rima's head popped in the doorframe. "KusuKusu, did you say something?"

"Uh… Nope!"

"Alright, let's get some breakfast." Rima led the way to the kitchen while KusuKusu lingered in the room some time before joining her bearer.

"_Every time I see your face"_

"I was thinking about doing this. What about you?"

At the end of the day, the classroom was filled with lively students chatting about their plans after they graduated, since spring fast approaching. The past months at Seiyo High had come to an end as the upperclassmen were now spending the second to last week until graduation.

The topic of graduation was on the mind of everybody at this time, everybody except one. While her classmates were enjoying their time with friends, Rima sat quietly at her desk gazing out the window.

Graduation and the ceremony were far from Rima's mind as possible. As she gazed out the window at the blooming cherry blossom tree, she only thought about the purple-haired boy in her dream that morning. She wondered if he was ever going to come back.

She heaved a sigh, knowing sometimes things were tough. And in those times, she was at a lost at what to do. The few words Nagihiko had spoken in her dream weren't enough to secure they were going to make it through.

Rima knew she didn't want to see the end of Nagihiko and her.

As the beauty queen continued to daydream, her two friends, the blond king and rosette joker had stopped their conversation and observed her. As her friends, they were worried about her. They've noticed she's been preoccupied lately. But why?

The two guessed it was from their basketball cross-dresser losing contact, but they weren't entirely positive. Rima never gave a straight answer when asked; she always found a way to avoid it.

Amu and Tadase were moving closer, about to confront her, but a brown-haired boy beat them to it. He casually sat in a desk next to the dazed girl. The two became a little weary of the boy; they _did_ know who he was. They decided to watch first and jump in if they needed to.

The brown-haired boy slightly smiled and cleared his throat. "Mashiro-san?"

Hearing her name be called, Rima snapped out of her thoughts. She whipped her head to face where the sound was coming from. She kept her same composure when she saw who it was. "Kirishma-kun, what is it?"

"You seem so distant sitting at your desk staring out the window while the others talk about the plans for after graduation."

"What's your point?"

"Don't you want to spend the time you can with everybody who you might not see for awhile or ever again?" Rima blinked, making it seem to someone who didn't know her very well, that she didn't hear a word. But Kirishma knew Rima with what's happened between them, half of which he regrets.

"Or I can continue looking out the window and wonder if a certain person is ever going to come back," Rima countered.

He chuckled. "I assume the certain person is Fujisaki. He's bound to return someday." Kirishma no longer felt hostile toward Nagihiko since he patched things up with him during the middle school ceremony. "Mashiro-san, if you need someone, I'm-"

"That's enough out of you!" Amu suddenly interrupted.

Rima and Kirishma's eyes traveled to the pink-haired girl pointing a finger. "If you want to get near Rima, you'll have to go through me!"

Rima narrowed her eyes. "Amu?"

Kirishma looked taken back. "H-Hinamori-san?"

"That's right! You'll have to go through Tadase-kun too." Amu pointed at the kind, shy boy behind her.

"Uh, well, I thought…" Kirishma trailed facing Rima.

The girl rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. She yanked at her best friend's wrist. "Come with me."

Now in a corner of the classroom where there were no students, Rima and Amu began their conversation about Kirishma. "Are you crazy? That's Kirishma-kun! Why are you talking to him again? I thought you hated him ever since the Yamabuki-san and pushing you into an alley and the Black Lynx and the slash claw," Amu spazzed while imitating the mentioned attack.

"Sometimes, I miss the days when you were your cool n' spicy self," Rima bluntly stated. Amu pulled back making it seem like that comment hurt, though it really didn't.

"I do too. If I was, then I'd still have Ran, Miki, Su and Dia." She frowned for a second remembering her charas that went back into her heart's egg a couple years ago. She shook her head, dismissing those thoughts and getting back on topic. "Anyways, Kirishma-kun?"

Rima waved her hand off, releasing a sigh. "Goes to show how great a best friend you've been. If you weren't so busy with your 'cat' problems, you would've known everything's alright. Two years ago, he apologized for his obnoxious and mean behavior and he wanted to make it up to me, so he has been."

"What if he tries anything again and what about," Amu darted her eyes in the direction of her so-called elementary rival, "Yamabuki-san?"

"He assured me Yamabuki-san isn't a problem anymore and don't worry, if he tries anything, I'll just chara nari with KusuKusu, after all, I'm the only ex-guardian with her chara," she frowned, knowing her friends have realized who they are and want to be, but she hasn't.

Amu snapped her fingers. "That's right! I was going to say Nagihiko still has his, but the last time he ever contacted us was when he told us his charas went back into his heart's egg and I'm not helping..." Amu sweat-dropped.

Rima sighed.

"Anything you need to talk about. It seems Kirishma-kun and Tadase-kun are having their own conversation." The girls glimpsed at the boys. "I bet he misses Kiseki. Anyways, Rima, say what you need to say."

The girl across from her pondered whether she should tell her best friend. When she decided to, she took a breath before speaking. "Well, every morning I wait by my phone, hoping I'll hear from him again. I realize there's nothing else I can do. I wonder if him never coming back is set in stone. I guess it all depends on him, but I think-No. I know he's what I-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the school bell chimed, signaling school was over. "Class dismissed," the sensei announced.

Rima moved from Amu's side, not bothering to complete her thought. She snatched her bag and exited the classroom with the other students.

Amu stood there, contemplating what her friend was going to say.

"_Every time you walk away"_

Rima walked the streets of Tokyo with KusuKusu by her side. Being awhile since they last went to the store to get manga, Rima promised her chara they'd go after school.

When they arrived at the store, KusuKusu immediately flew from Rima to the gag section. "KusuKusu, get back here," Rima ordered. The clown chara just continued her way. Her bearer sighed and followed.

Once the two picked out and purchased the mangas they wanted and spent some time reading a few, they made their journey home. Upon coming out of the store, a blur of purple came from the corner of Rima's eye. She knew _one_ person with that hair color.

She turned her head in the direction, but there was no one.

"Something wrong, Rima?"

"It's nothing." Right as she was about to continue walking, she saw it again. A flash of purple. Her eyes widened.

"Are you sure it's nothing? You seem-"

"Did you see Nagihiko?"

KusuKusu floated over to Rima's face and placed a tiny hand on her forehead. "Do you have a fever? We better get home."

"No!" Rima refused. "I just saw Nagihiko. He's back in Japan."

"That was probably your mind playing tricks on you. You haven't recovered from your dream this morning. Let's go." KusuKusu urged Rima to go home.

She at last agreed when KusuKusu advised that _if_ it was Nagihiko, he would've told her he was back.

Rima entered her room and fell back on her bed.

KusuKusu rubbed her eyes. "I'm going to bed early. Night, Rima." Her patterned egg appeared and enclosed around her, floating gently on the bedside table.

Rima was too busy thinking of the incident at the book store, so she didn't even hear what KusuKusu just said. She rolled on her side and grabbed a pillow from under the covers.

"It had to be Nagihiko. What other person has purple hair?" She asked no one. She reached for the phone and dialed a number. She heard the dial tone and waited anxiously for someone to pick up. When no one did, she sighed and called another person. This time the person answered.

"Hey, Rima. What's u- Down cat boy!"

Rima guessed Ikuto was crashing at her house again or just dropped by to annoy her. "Amu," Rima grumbled.

"Oh, sorry, Rima. Why did you call? Do you need something? What were you saying before the bell rang at school?"

Rima twitched with the questions Amu was throwing at her. She slowly replied to them in the reverse order they were asked. "Do you think it was him?"

"Can't say, Rima. If it really was Nagihiko, don't you think he'd tell us first? Besides, I'm sure there are other purple-haired people out there."

"Thanks for the help, Amu," Rima said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. What do you want me to say? He's going to surprise you by showing up at your doorstep with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. A girl can dream that, Rima. You can only hope he's safe and thinking about you wherever he is. After all, you were born to make him happy.

Rima smiled, "Thanks Amu."

"No problem. If you ever need me, you can call. I'll see you tomorrow."

The blonde girl shut her phone. She lied on her bed and gazed at the ceiling. She convinced herself what Amu had said was right. She tiny smiled before sitting up.

"At least tomorrow's a new day."

"_When my heart begins to race"_

Rima exited the main doors of the school the next afternoon with bag in hand and chara egg in her pocket. Everything was peaceful for her, until the people she called "friends" came charging at her.

They whizzed past, creating a breeze to mess up her golden locks. She pouted, "What was that for?"

Amu, Yaya and Tadase stood before her, not knowing how to let their information out. "Uh… Well, Mashiro-san, we have some news."

Still trying to fix her hair, she narrowed her eyes, "I'd love to hear this," she remarked.

"You see, Rima, about last night, you were right."

Rima raised an eyebrow, not recalling last night. "Right about what?"

"Nagi-kun _is _back, Rima-tan!" Yaya yelled. "Yaya even saw him with her own two eyes." The old ace formed a circle with her thumb and forefingers and positioned them around her eyes.

The thing on Rima's mind after that was said wasn't the fact that Nagihiko was back, but how Pepe went back into Yaya's heart's egg, but KusuKusu hasn't gone into hers.

When she pushed that out from her mind, Rima couldn't believe Nagihiko was back. She would've been excited and smiled, but something occurred to her. Maybe the reason why he didn't tell anyone he was back was because he no longer felt that way he did about her before he left.

That made her breathless; she needed oxygen.

Rima frowned on the inside. This is what she believed she found out about him.

While he didn't like her anymore, Rima knew she did. In fact, as time moved on, Rima influenced herself there was no one else for her, _but_ him. She couldn't deny her feelings toward him. She wished she could show him what he meant and did to her.

She glanced up at her smiling friends, waiting to see her reaction. Rima inhaled all the possible things she could say, but when she exhaled, she exhaled the things she wanted to say.

"It's most likely you're tired from school. I'll even confirm I was tired last night when I 'saw' him at the book store."

"No, it's true, Rima-tan! On our way to get our belongings, we saw someone with purple-hair on the basketball courts. Basketball? Purple-hair? Is that a coincidence? No!"

Rima backed up from the girl who spit on her face. She wiped it off with her sleeve, annoyed. "It could've been two kids: one with blue and one with red."

"No!" Yaya shouted. "There was only-"

"What's wrong, Rima? Last night you were hoping it was him and now there's proof over," Amu pointed to where the courts were, "there!"

Rima stayed passive. "Oh, if that's so, then why didn't you bring him to show me?"

The three sweat-dropped. "Mashiro-san, we only saw purple for a second."

"That proves my point. We're seeing things. All I saw was a haze too," she mumbled

"Aww," Yaya whined. "Yaya wanted it to be Nagi." She frowned, then immediately recovered. "What are the four of us doing now?"

As the friends departed the school grounds, someone who had been listening to their conversation came out from behind the tree and went to the spoken destination: the basketball courts.

He was several feet away from the courts, scanning to see if anybody was there. He caught someone shooting by themselves. The person kept shooting, making them all, until one finally missed. The ball hit the hoop and bounced to the opposite side. With his watch down, Kirishma sprang from his hiding place.

"Mind if I join you, Fujisaki?"

"Yeah, su- Crap." Nagihiko tried to run for it, but Kirishma halted him from going anywhere. "What are you still doing here? I thought everybody left the school, if not, at least the back part."

"I was leaving when I heard an interesting conversation." Kirishma filled Nagihiko in on what his friends had said about him. "So it isn't their mind playing tricks on them, is it?"

"No," Nagihiko replied. "Moments ago when my friends passed by, the reason they saw a blur was because I hurriedly hid in a bush when I spotted them, same for Rima-chan at the store, except I hid in an alley. I've also been receiving phone calls from Rima-chan, but I ignored them."

The two walked off the courts to the bench to talk. "When did you get back from Europe?"

"Days ago. School and graduation were last week, so I thought I'd come back to Japan."

"You haven't told your friends you're back? You realize they miss you, particularly, Mashiro-san."

Surprised to hear that, Nagihiko's eyes widened and he smiled. "I missed them too, but I can't tell them yet. You promise not to tell anyone I'm in Japan, especially Rima-chan, until I'm ready."

Kirishma was confused. "Why?"

"It goes back to four years ago; they wouldn't want to talk to me after I stopped contacting them a year later since I got too busy. And since I'm positive Rima-chan…" Nagihiko trailed.

Kirishma shook his head and got up from the bench. "I got to go, but before I do, there's something I have to say to you."

Nagihiko was bracing whatever it was.

"I know Mashiro-san and I'm sure whatever you were going to say isn't true. Don't let her feel sad and be hurt; show yourself soon. Don't be a dummy like me. After all, if you remember your accident years ago, it's because of her you live."

A little shocked to hear those words from Kirishma, Nagihiko raised his eyebrows, but then let it go and grinned. "Thanks, Kirishma-kun."

"No problem." With that, Kirishma disappeared.

Nagihiko stood up and thought it'd be best to get home. He walked out of the school and traveled the path to his house. On his way, he stumbled across the spot where Rima and he spent the day watching the sunset. He smiled as he slid down the slope. As soon as he reached the bottom, he felt the cool breeze blowing.

"I truly missed Japan and the others."

"Is that true?"

Nagihiko flinched, believing he was caught. The voice of the person was one he could recognize, but he didn't know whose it was. He rotated slowly. He was startled to see Japan's idol standing at the top of the hill. "Utau."

She smirked, "You _are_ back. When I heard this from the others, I thought they were hallucinating, which is what they thought too." Utau moved, so she was sitting in the middle; Nagihiko sat beside her. "I just got out of the recording studio, but while I was there, your friends paid a visit and explained their 'seeing' of you. Obviously, they don't know."

Nagihiko shook his head and chuckled, "I just had a conversation similar to this."

"Well, you need one. What are you waiting for? Come out of hiding already for the other's sake, for Rima's sake. Don't tell me you forget your promise that day at the airport."

Nagihiko confused, tried to recall seeing at the airport. When he couldn't, he questioned her. Utau smiled and filled him in on the El chara change with Rima idea, which she couldn't do again since El and Il were both inside her heart.

"Amu or the others never informed me of that the first year we were in contact."

"Oh, then I don't know with them. But," Utau suddenly came closer to Nagihiko, "go on. Make a move. Let Rima and everyone know you're here."

"I don't think Rima wants to see-"

"Nagihiko, the girl's stolen your heart; you know that. What you don't know though, is that you've stolen her heart also. I saw her expression today and I could tell she was trying to hold the pain inside; she broke twice, but I only noticed."

"You're right, Utau. I should." Just then, the former jack thought of an idea. "Hmm. I might have a plan to show myself to Rima, but I need you and the others to help."

"Plan?" Utau asked. She smirked, "One of my favorite words."

"_Everything falls into place"_

"Good job, you are nearly through. Now, you must seek a place to dine that's considered quite chic if the end is what you pursue." The once queen stared at the note in her hands and thrust it downwards. She groaned, "How many more of these? What person leaves a letter by your window and makes you embark on a scavenger hunt?" She glared at her chara. "Do you have anything to do with this?"

KusuKusu did her signature giggle before putting on her best poker face. "I have no clue." Though, Rima kind of doubted it, it was the truth.

"We better find a place to eat that's chic, whatever that means."

KusuKusu snapped her fingers. "The café! We haven't been there for awhile, but it's the one we went with-"

"Okay," Rima interrupted and started heading toward the restaurant.

When she reached the restaurant thirty minutes later, sure enough, on a tree, rested another note. "You've made it to the end, you must be truly proud. To find something you've been missing, go to where the guardians use to be found." Rima twitched. "Whoever wrote these had a lot of time on their hands to make _every_ one rhyme."

She grunted before heading to her last stop: the royal garden.

The journey to the royal garden took longer than expected since Rima was nearly on the other side of the town and she still lacked athletic ability.

When she arrived at the destination, she admired the castle-shaped greenhouse where the meetings were held. She walked right in, KusuKusu trailing.

She scanned the area, it seemed no one was around.

"Hello, anyone here?" Then on the table, something shimmering caught her eye. She scaled the steps, only to realize she was tricked by the sunlight. She plopped down on a chair and seized all the notes from her pocket. "Who made these and why did they lead me here?"

While her bearer contemplated, KusuKusu flew around the garden, seeing something she wasn't supposed to see yet. She laughed. "What are you all doing here? Did you send the-"

The six put a finger to their lips, shushing the clown. "We have five more seconds." Pause. "And now's your cue," Kukai whispered into his phone. KusuKusu spun to see what was up.

Rima still sat at the table with the notes, but someone was approaching her. KusuKusu's eyes widened and giggled. "Nagi's back!" she shouted.

Rima gazed up from the letters to her chara. "KusuKusu, what was-" The six that were hiding in the bush were now standing up from the blabbermouth chara. "What are you guys-" Rima felt a presence behind her and quickly turned around. She looked to see the one and only Fujisaki Nagihiko. A little startled, Rima fell out of the chair.

The six rushed to her side as she got up. "Explain," she stated bluntly.

Before the gang wanted to explain, KusuKusu, who thought of a way to buy the others some time for spoiling the plan, suggested everybody should welcome back Nagihiko. Making sure, she wouldn't interrupt or ruin anything again, KusuKusu went into her egg to nap.

When that was over and everyone was seated, Kukai, Amu, Tadase, Yaya and Ikuto had the pleasure of explaining the _failed_ note operation. As for Utau, she told Rima about yesterday afternoon near the lake. And Nagihiko had the hardest out of them, informing her of everything upon arriving.

Rima's expression throughout the explaining was blank. At the end, though, she smirked, "I knew it was you!"

"Sorry I didn't tell you I was back sooner, sorry you had to wait here long," Nagihiko apologized.

Rima waved a hand off. "It's alright. Why was the royal garden last?"

Nagihiko slightly smiled, "It's where we first met, remember? You couldn't stand me." Nagihiko sweat-dropped.

"I'm pretty surprised you actually made it. Since Fujisaki-kun and Tsukiyomi wrote them and they're both smart, I thought it'd take you awhile."

Everyone glared at Kukai for a second.

Remembering something on his mind earlier, Nagihiko cleared his throat and gestured a hug toward Rima. "It's not-"

"Rima-tan, _why_ did you wait for Nagi? Yaya means, although, she loves Nagi and Rima-tan together, there were other gu-"

"Ignore the last part, Rima," Amu gave Yaya a look. "Respond to the question though," Amu smiled.

"Yeah, I'd love to hear this, Queen," Kukai grinned.

Ikuto and Utau simply placed their hands on their ears meaning 'Go on; I'm all ears.'

Nagihiko pulled back from the hug he was about to give her to let her speak.

Rima was the center of attention. It was hard enough having to say the real reason in front of everybody, but in front of Nagihiko, it made her even more nervous. "Well…" It was only when Rima saw the genuine happy smile on Nagihiko's face to see her again and his ochre eyes, she believed she could do it.

She took a breath.

"We promised at the airport on his last day," she announced to everyone's disappointment. She raised a finger, "That's not the only reason though."

Everybody perked at the mention of this.

"This was from a long time ago, but I'm certain it's _still_ true. I decided to wait here for Nagihiko because he's the only one that I know who," she broke her sentence. "Let me put it this way. It's because according to him, I'm beautiful and incredible; he couldn't get me out of his head. According to him, I'm-"

"You're funny, irresistible; and when I was in London away from you, Rima, I realized that you were everything I ever wanted," Nagihiko ended. "While I was in London, it felt like forever was going to happen before I saw you. When we weren't together, I was about to go crazy, but then Faith told me to relax and breathe. That turned the negative thoughts into good ones. I concluded that'd it be only a matter of time until I graduated, be back and make you mine," Nagihiko smiled, his face inches away from Rima's.

In one swift movement, Rima and Nagihiko leaned forward, their lips coming together into a simple, but sweet kiss that from Rima meant 'Welcome home, Nagihiko,' and from Nagihiko that meant, 'I'm glad to be home.'

They lasted a few more seconds until three people sang, "Aww!"

Rima and Nagihiko retreated and saw it was the girls. As for the guys, they shook their heads at the girls.

Scanning the expressions on her friends' faces, Rima slightly huffed before playfully shoving Nagihiko from her, but accidentally pushing him out of his chair. Their friends laughed and Rima used that opportunity to clear her head. Getting up from her seat, she strolled out the royal garden, closing the door behind.

She placed her back to the glass door and gazed at the cloudless sapphire sky. Rima smiled with the thought Nagihiko was with her again, the thought of her friends. She smiled the widest with the thought of KusuKusu. She reached in her pocket for KusuKusu's egg. "Oh, KusuKusu," Rima giggled.

Sure, she may be the last one of her friends to still have her chara, but Rima was happy all the same. KusuKusu _did _help her out today. Without KusuKusu, Kukai would've been right, saying that it would've taken her a week to figure this puzzle out. And although KusuKusu did get on her nerves, Rima was lucky to have someone there.

"Things have a way of working themselves out, which means I'll realize who I want to be later on when the time is right. But for now, everything's as perfect as it could be," Rima said to no one. "And this time, it's according to me."

She smiled one last time as she went inside to re-join her friends.

The end

* * *

Last chapter! It's been _only_, what, four months? :P

Constructive criticism, please, for the _last_ time.


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